Phrases & Clauses
Verb Complements
Consider that these are called “verb complements” for a reason. First, consider whether the verb of
the sentence is an “action verb” or a “linking verb.” Then, consider what follows the verb, or what
“complements” the verb.
Direct Objects and Indirect Objects
A “direct object” follows an action verb: Bob hit the ball.
DO = S + AV + whom? / what?
An “indirect object” receives the DO and comes between the action verb and DO:
Bob sent his coach a letter.
IO = S + AV + to whom? / to what? / for whom? / for what?
[Don’t confuse an “object of the preposition” with an IO: Bob sent a letter to his coach.]
Predicate Nouns and Predicate Adjectives
A “predicate noun” or “predicate adjective” follows a linking verb.
PN: Bob is an outfielder.
PA: Bob is fast.
PN = S + LV + who [Subject = PN]
PA = S + LV + what [ PA modifies Subject]
Linking verbs are often forms of the verb “to be”: am, is, are, was, were, be, being, been…will be,
has been…should be, could be, can be…
Linking verbs are sometimes verbs that relate to the senses or that function like “to be”:
appear, feel, taste, smell, look, smell…seem, become, grow, remain, stay, turn…
Consider whether the verb is functioning as an action verb or a linking verb:
The candy tastes good. (“good” = PA)
I taste the candy. (“candy” = DO)
A PN or PA can also follow a passive verb:
Bob was elected president. “was elected” = passive verb; you can imagine that Bob was elected “…by
the people.” So: PN = president.
[If the sentence is simply, Bob was elected, then “was elected” is still a passive verb and there is no PA
or PN, i.e. “elected” is not a PA.]
Bob was considered intelligent. PA = intelligent.
Participles, Gerunds, & Absolute Phrases
A participle is a verb form used as an adjective.
The participle is part verb and part adjective. It might be called a “verbal adjective.”
Examples:
Leaping the fence, the great cat surprised me.
Defeated teams should congratulate the winners.
Moving quickly, he intercepted the pass.
Leaping is part verb because it carries the action of the verb leap. It is also part adjective
because it modifies the noun cat—leaping cat. Defeated, formed from the verb defeat,
modifies the noun teams. Moving, formed from the verb move, modifies the pronoun he.
Verb forms used as adjectives, leaping, defeated, and moving are participles.
1—Present participles consist of the plain form of the verb plus –ing.
Examples:
The crying baby hid under the table.
Pointing at me, the teacher snapped a question.
Verb forms used as adjectives, crying and pointing are participles.
In addition to its use as a verbal, the present participle can be part of a verb phrase:
The baby was crying.
The teacher had been pointing at me.
A present participle alone cannot be a verb. It must be preceded by some form of the verb
be and a noun or pronoun that can be the subject of the verb phrase. A present participle in
a verb phrase is not considered to be an adjective.
2—Past participles usually consist of the plain form of the verb plus —d or —ed. Others are
irregularly formed.
Examples:
The frightened and embarrassed actor missed his cue. [The past
participles frightened and embarrassed modify the noun actor.]
The survivor, visibly shaken by his long ordeal, shuddered at the sight of the
huge crowd. [The past participle shaken modifies the noun survivor—
shaken survivor.]
Like a present participle, a past participle can also be part of a verb phrase. In this case, the
whole verb phrase in which the past participle appears is often used as an adjective, as in
the first example.
Examples:
Having been warned, I did not see that movie.
I was warned that the movie was extremely dull.
Avoid dangling modifiers: a modifying phrase or clause that does not clearly and
sensibly modify a word in the sentence is a dangling modifier.
Examples:
Sleeping during history class, the teacher marked me absent.
Nailed to the gate, Patty noticed a no-trespassing sign.
Walking down the street, his eyes showed constant surprise.
A gerund is a verb form used as a noun.
A gerund is part verb and part noun. It is formed by adding —ing to the plain form of the
verb. Like nouns, gerunds are used as subjects, predicate nominatives, direct objects, or
objects of prepositions.
Examples:
Walking is good exercise. [subject]
My hobby is sewing. [predicate nominative]
Gardner enjoys reading. [direct object]
That is used for drilling. [object of preposition]
Review: In the following sentence, the –ing words function as a participle, verb, and gerund:
Ignoring (P) the ranger’s advice, Clem was planning (V) to go on with his hunting (G).
An absolute phrase consists of a noun plus a participial phrase:
Occasionally you will find in a first draft of a paper sentences like these:
My cousin Perry stammered an apology. His cheeks were flushed with
embarrassment.
The next minute Mr. Crockett rushed out of the tent. A horde of mosquitoes was
buzzing around his head.
In both these pairs, the second sentence tells something that was happening at exactly the
same time as the action in the first sentence. Perry’s cheeks were flushed while—not
after—he apologized; the mosquitoes were buzzing around Mr. Crockett’s head all the while
he was rushing from the tent. You can give your readers a clearer picture of these
simultaneous actions by revising the sentences in each pair this way:
My cousin Perry, his cheeks flushed with embarrassment, stammered an apology.
The next minute Mr. Crockett rushed out of the tent, a horde of mosquitoes
buzzing around his head.
Notice that each of the italicized groups of words in the preceding examples consists of a
noun followed by a participial phrase that modifies the noun. This sort to word group is
called an absolute phrase.
Types of Sentences
Simple, Compound, Complex
1—A simple sentence has one independent clause and no subordinate (dependent) clauses.
It has only one subject and one verb, although both may be compound.
Ex. Mr. Jones mowed his lawn.
Ex. Mr. Jones and Mrs. Jones mowed their lawn and watered their garden.
2—A compound sentence has two or more independent clauses but no subordinate
(dependent) clauses. In effect, a compound sentence consists of two or more simple
sentences joined by a comma and a coordinating conjunction or by a semi-colon.
Coordinating conjunctions: and, but, or, nor, for, yet, whereas…
Ex. Mr. Jones mowed his lawn, and he watered his garden.
3—A complex sentence has one independent clause and one or more subordinate
(dependent) clauses.
A subordinate clause can be used as an adjective, adverb, or a noun.
Ex. Mr. Jones mowed his lawn before he watered his garden. (adverb)
Ex. Mr. Jones mowed his lawn, which was very green. (adjective)
Ex. What Mr. Jones watered was his garden. (noun)
A subordinate clause does not express a complete thought and cannot stand alone. Most
subordinate clauses are introduced by a word like when, if, until, because, etc., that make
them subordinate.
An adjective clause is a subordinate clause used as an adjective to modify a noun or
pronoun. Adjective clauses are generally introduced by relative pronouns: who, whom,
whose, which, and that. These words relate the clause to the word that the clause modifies.
(“which was very green” modifies “lawn.”)
An adverb clause is a subordinate clause that modifies a verb, an adjective, or an adverb.
An adverb clause tells how, when, where, why, how much, or, under what condition the action
of the main verb takes place. (The adverb clause “before he watered his garden” tells when
Mr. Jones mowed his lawn.)
Subordinating conjunctions: after, although, as, as if, as long as, as soon as, because, before, if,
in order that, since, so that, than, though, unless, until, when, whenever, where, wherever,
while…
A noun clause is a subordinate clause used as a noun. A noun clause may be used as a
subject, a complement (predicate nominative, direct object, indirect object), or the object of
a preposition. (“What Mr. Jones watered” is the subject.)