PHRASES AND CLAUSES
I.
Phrases: phrases are groups of words that DO NOT have a subject or a verb.
The phrase may appear to have a subject because it has a noun or may appear
to have a verb because it contains an action word, The function of a phrase is
to act as a noun or a modifier. A unique characteristic of a phrase is its ability
to act as if it were a single word.
A. Prepositional phrase: begins with a preposition and contains additional
words, most often an article followed by a noun or pronoun which is
called the object of the preposition.
Example: The song about loneliness moved him to tears.
The house in the forest had been abandoned.
Tom ran into the woods.
He placed the book next to the door.
As the dog's owner, Nancy was required to report the incident.
Many prepositions indicate location: in, on, into, beneath, below, through,
beside, and inside, to name a few. Many prepositional phrases function as
adverbs in answering the question where?
B. Appositive phrases and modification: an appositive phrase provides
additional information about the noun or pronoun it directly precedes or
follows. An appositive renames that noun by referring to another aspect of
its identity.
Example: Jack, a man admired for his integrity and unflinching
devotion to duty, got married today to Sally Barnes.
The patient, Lorene Smith, recovered quickly from gallbladder
surgery.
A woman of infinite patience, my mother has been an inspiration to
me.
He has three favorite foods—shaghetti, lasagna, and macaroni.
Notice that an appositive can come between a subject and a verb, it can
precede a subject, or it can follow an object. Appositives can appear
anywhere as long as they are immediately adjacent to the nouns they
modify and as long as they are punctuated correctly.
There are two types of appositive phrases. If a phrase merely adds
additional information or renames its noun by using several descriptive
words, then it is nonessential to the meaning of the sentence or to the
identity of that noun---it is nonrestrictive. But if a phrase is instrumental
in helping us understand who or which, then it is essential or restrictive.
Example: Your sister Marge voted today.
Marge is needed to identify which sister. If the sentence read
Your sister, Marge, voted today, the sister's name wouldn't be
necessary because we would infer from the commas
surrounding it that there is only one sister.
His friend Joe claimed the prize. The lack of punctuation
indicates that Joe is one of many friends so his name is
essential.
Most errors with appositives occur because writers automatically insert
commas around any word that renames the subject. the need for commas
is not automatic; they are used to indicate a particular relationship between
the appositive and the element it modifies.
C. Verbal phrases and modification: a verbal phrase begins with a verbal that
is followed by additional words, just as a prepositional phrase begins with
a preposition that is followed by additional words. A verbal is related to a
verb in that it also communicates action. There are 3 types of verbal:
participles (past, present, and perfect tense), gerunds, and infinitives.
While similar, participles function as modifiers and gerunds function as
nouns.
Present-participial phrases:
Example: Running up the hill, Tom felt his nose grow cold.
The phrase running up the hill tells more about Tom, and
therefore modifies as an adjective.
Gerund phrase:
Example: Running up the hill is something Tom does every morning.
In this case, running up the hill, the gerund acts as a noun and is
the subject of the sentence with is functioning as the verb.
COMPARISONS OF THE TWO PHRASES:
*Hopping on his left leg, the child managed to bounce the ball.
*Hopping on his left leg caused Lester to develop crams in his right.
*Thinking of money, the college student accepted three part-time jobs.
*Thinking of money made the young couple nervous.
Notice the use of the comma. All introductory-phrase modifiers are
followed by commas. However, when the phrase functions as a gerund, it
is not followed by a comma. Helpful hint: subjects and verbs are never
separated by only one comma.
Notice also the placement of the modifier; they are right next to the words
they modify. Also notice that a phrase is classified by its first word, even
though it may contain additional phrases. Although a phrase may contain a
prepositional phrase, the beginning word determines its identity.
1. Present-participial phrases: To avoid using "baby sentences", use
participial phrases for modification which makes writing more concise
and allows the writer to vary the typical sentence structure of subject,
verb, object (SVO). Modifiers may appear in different places with in
the sentence as long as the modifier is close to the word it is
modifying.
EXAMPLE: Tom walked into the room. He looked lonely.
EXAMPLE: Looking lonely, Tom walked into the room.
EXAMPLE: The dog sat on the porch. He scratched his ear. He
looked back into the house. Suddenly, he felt hungry.
EXAMPLE: The dog sitting on the porch scratched his ear and,
suddenly feeling hungry, looked back into the house.
or
Scratching his ear and suddenly feeling hungry, the dog sittion on
the porch looked back into the house.
2. Essential (restrictive) and nonessential (nonrestrictive) phrases: a
phrase that comes between a subject and a verb is called an interrupter,
and it is most often set off by a pair of commas. A nonessential phrase
adds information but is not required to establish the identity of the
word it modifies. An essential phrase cannot be removed from the
sentence because it establishes the identity of the word it modifies.
NONESSENTIAL EXAMPLES:
The young woman, appearing to be serenely indifferent, picked
red flowers.
The wind, blowing from the east, damaged the palm.
ESSENTIAL EXAMPLES:
The man looking at Mary remembered he had seen her before.
The dog scratching his ear is the one needing a new home.
EXAMPLES OF BOTH:
The girl walking slowly toward the house felt uneasy. (Essential
because the only way the reader knows which girl felt uneasy is only
because she is the one identified as walking slowly toward the house.
Therefore, the phrase is essential and NOT set off by commas).
Leah, walking slowly toward the house, felt uneasy. (We know
Leah felt uneasy walking toward the house because her name is given,
so the modifying phrase is nonessential and set off by commas: we
don't need it to identify Leah).
The young child crying his hear out looks lost.
In this sentence, the information that the child was crying his heart out
is needed to distinguish him, perhaps from other children.
The young child, crying his heart out, looks lost.
In this sentence, it would appear that he is the only young child; he
looks lost, and by the way, he is crying his heart out.
3. Verbal Phrases: Tense and Participles:
a. Past-Participial-Phrase Modifiers
Modify as single words, or they can introduce phrase modifiers.
EXAMPLE: Cupped in Paul's hand, the butterfly looked
faded.
Sal felt frozen to the bone.
The audience, moved by the senator's speech, clapped
enthusiastically.
b. Present-Perfect and Past-Perfect Participial-Phrase Modifiers
A present-perfect participial-phrase modifier is formed by
combining the present participle of to have and a past participle;
the past-perfect participial-phrase modifier is formed by combining
the present participle of to have, the past participle of to be, and
another past participle—in other words, by combining having been
and a past participle.
EXAMPLES: Having been depressed for years, the man finally
sought treatment. The present participle having has been
combined with been (the past participle of to be) and the past
participle depresses to form the past-perfect participial-phrase
modifier having been depressed. For years is an adverbial phrase.
The child ate the salad, having been satisfied with its taste
before. The present participle having has been combined with the
past participles been and satisfied to form a past=perfect
participial-phrase modifier.
Having had enough of Martin's moods, his wife went to the
movies. The present participle having has been combined with
had; the past participle of to have. The result is the present-perfect
participial-phrase modifier having had.
Misplaced and Dangling Modifiers
A modifying phrase needs to be placed as close as possible to the noun it is modifying.
When the modifier is too far away, it is called misplaced.
EXAMPLE: Awkward----Not completely finished with the exam, the teacher told
the students to put their pencils down anyway. (The introductory phrase modifies the
word next to it which is teacher - - but the teacher wasn't taking the exam, the students
were. Better---Not completely finished with the exam, the students were bold by the
teacher to put down their pencils anyway. OR Not completely finished with the
exam, the students put their pencils down at the request of the teacher.
.
If the word being modified is only implied, then the modifier is said to dangle.
REMEMBER, whether you intend it to or not, a modifier will always modify the word it
is closest to.
EXAMPLE: Awkward---Driving his car recklessly, the convertible hit a streetlight.
The introductory phrase modifier appears to tell more about convertible, but the car
couldn't be driving itself. Because there is no person present in the sentence who could be
driving the car recklessly, the word being modified is only implied. Better---Driving his
car recklessly, the motorist in the convertible hit a streetlight.
4. Gerunds: a gerund is a word formed by adding the suffix –ing to a base
verb and therefore looks exactly like a present participle. Remember a
gerund is capable of doing what a noun does in a sentence--functioning as a subject, an object, or a complement.
EXAMPLES: Swimming is his favorite sport.
Hiking requires great stamina. (Both gerunds are used as a subject).
EXAMPLES: Before eating, the old dog licked his chops.
John stretched while writing. (Both gerunds are used as the object of
a prepositional phrase).
EXAMPLES: The first person in line has finished showering.
Dietary restrictions prohibit his eating meat. (Both gerunds
function as the object of a verb).
EXAMPLES: Her main responsibility is teaching.
Joe's only pleasure was eating.
a. Gerund phrases as Subjects
EXAMPLES: Going to work every day takes a lot of effort.
When trying to locate the subject of a sentence, look first for the
verb. In the example above, takes is clearly the verb. If you then
ask yourself what takes?, the answer is Going to work every day.
The entire phrase is the subject of the sentence, just as a single
word can be the subject.
EXAMPLES: Baking for others is fun.
Listening to sad romantic tunes stirred old memories.
Talking about people behnd their backs can get you into
trouble.