Holt Handbook, Ch. 5:
The Phrase
English 7CP
Mr. Snow
What is a phrase?
• A phrase is a group of related words that is used
as a single part of speech and that does NOT
contain both a subject and a verb.
• If a group of words has both a subject and a verb,
it is called a clause.
• A clause and a phrase are not the same thing.
• A phrase can never be a complete sentence; a
clause may be.
Prepositional phrases
• Prepositional phrases include a preposition, the
object of a preposition, and modifiers of the
object (if any).
• under the umbrella
• for ourselves
• among good friends
• next to them
• of the United States
preposition
object of the
preposition
modifier
Prepositional phrases
• I’m going to show you a painting. In your notes,
write as many sentences as you can containing
prepositional phrases.
• Ex: “The man is standing on the boat.”
• Ex: “Blue paint is all over the walls.”
• Ex: “Next to the dog are two food bowls.”
Anonymous: Vanitas
Participles
• Participles are verb forms used as adjectives.
• Present participles end in -ing.
• Mr. Sanders rescued us from the burning building.
• [burn is a verb, but burning is present participle
modifying building]
• Past participles usually end in -d, -ed, or -en.
• Well trained, the sailors carried out their mission.
• The paper was poorly written.
Participles
• Don’t confuse a participle with part of the verb phrase.
• Discouraged, we went home. [participle]
• The fans were discouraged by the loss. [verb]
• Singing cheerfully, the birds perched among the tree
branches. [participle]
• The birds were singing cheerfully among the tree
branches. [verb]
• Hint: participles can always be removed from the
sentence without affecting readability. Verbs can’t.
Participial phrases
• Participial phrases consist of a participle together
with its modifiers and complements.
• The entire phrase is used as an adjective.
• Stretching slowly, the cat jumped down.
• The tornado predicted by the meteorologist did not
touch down in our area.
• Reading the assignment, she took careful notes.
Participial phrases
• I’m going to show you a photograph. This time
write as many sentences as you can with
participial phrases.
• Ex: “Falling slowly, the airplane is about to crash.”
• Ex: “The statue, carved from wood, is beautiful.”
• Ex: “That skull, frightening as can be, is sitting on
the papers.”
Jeff Wall: After “Invisible Man” by Ralph Ellison, The Prologue (1999-2000)
Infinitives
• An infinitive is a verb form that can be used as a
noun, adjective, or adverb.
• Infinitives look like this: to + a verb.
• To succeed is my goal. [used as noun]
• The place to meet tomorrow is the library. [used
as adjective]
• Tamara said she was born to surf. [used as adverb]
Infinitive vs. prepositional phrase
• Don’t confuse infinitives with prepositional
phrases.
• To run [infinitive]
• To you [prep. phrase]
• To hike [infinitive]
• To infinity and beyond! [prep. phrase]
Infinitive phrases
• Infinitive phrases consist an infinitive together with
its modifiers and complements.
• The entire phrase may be used as a noun, adjective,
or adverb.
• To be a good gymnast takes hard work.
• used as noun
• The first man to fly over the North and South Pole
was Richard Byrd.
• used as adjective
• Are you ready to go to the gym now?
• used as adverb
Appositive & appositive
phrases
• An appositive is a noun or pronoun placed
beside another noun or pronoun to identify or
describe it.
• Our teacher Mr. Snow enjoys books by Kurt
Vonnegut. [Mr. Snow identifies our teacher]
• His book Slaughterhouse-Five is among Mr.
Snow’s favorite books. [Slaughterhouse-Five
identifies book]
Appositive phrases
• Appositive phrases consist of an appositive and its
modifiers.
• Hint: appositives can always be taken out.
• Anne, a wonderful lady, works hard all day.
• Joe’s son Ethan had his birthday today.
• Jackson Square, a landmark in New Orleans, has a
statue of Andrew Jackson.
• Monique wanted a sweater, her green one.
FIN