A phrase is a group of related words that is used as a single part of speech and does not contain a verb and its subject.

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Phrases

• A phrase is a group of related words that is used
  as a single part of speech and does not contain a
  verb and its subject.

• Prepositional
• Verbal
• Participial
• Gerund
• Infinitive
• Appositive

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Prepositional Phrases

• A prepositional phrase includes a preposition, a
  noun or pronoun called the object of the
  preposition, and any modifiers of that object.
• Prepositional phrases can either function as
  adjectives or adverbs.

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Identify the following prepositional phrases.
Are they adjective or adverb?

• Brians Song is an inspiring story about
  friendship and courage.
• During the Civil War, Louisa Mae Alcott worked in
  a hospital as a nurse for six weeks.
• Louisa Mae Alcott wrote Little Women, a novel
  rich in New England tradition.
• Sarah Kemble Knight kept a journal of her trip to
  New York.

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Verbal Phrases

• A verbal is a form of a verb used as a noun,
  adjective or adverb.
• The three kinds of verbals are participles,
  gerunds and infinitives.
• When used with other modifiers and prepositional
  phrases, these verbals are called verbal phrases.

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The Participle

• A participle is a verb used as an adjective.
• There are two kinds of participles present and
  past. Present participles end in ing and past
  participles end in ed, or d (unless the past
  tense is irregular).
• Examples singing lessons, smiling teacher,
  baked chicken, frightened boy

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Identify the participial phrases in the
following sentences.

• Nodding his head, the defendant admitted his
  guilt.
• I love to see roses bursting into bloom in the
  spring.
• Known as Johnny Appleseed, John Chapman
  distributed apple seeds and saplings to families
  heading West.

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If a participial phrase is not used near the
noun it modifies, it can cause confusion.

• The defendant admitted his guilt, nodding his
  head.
• Bursting into bloom in the spring, I love to see
  the roses.
• Heading West, John Chapman distributed apple
  seeds and saplings to families, known as Johnny
  Appleseed.

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Gerunds

• A gerund is a verb that is used as a noun.
• It ends in ing.
• Examples
• Swimming is excellent exercise.
• Janettas hobby is knitting.
• In cooking, use salt sparingly.
• He gave studying all his attention.

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Identify the following gerund phrases. How do
they function?

• Mary Shelley wrote Frankenstein after having a
  nightmare about a scientist and his strange
  experiments.
• My brother likes working at the travel agency.
• An excellent way to build your vocabulary is
  reading good literature.
• Walter Mitty daydreamed of being a courageous
  pilot.

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Infinitives

• An infinitive is a verb used as a noun, adjective
  or adverb.
• An infinitive is to plus a verb.
• Examples
• To fly was an ambition of humans. (noun)
• His attempt to fly was a failure. (adjective)
• Rip Van Winkle went to the woods with his dog to
  hunt. (adverb)

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Identify the following infinitive phrases. How
do they function?

• To finish early is our plan.
• Julia wants to go to the beach with us on
  Saturday.
• Napoleons plan to conquer Europe failed.
• Chico was unable to play in the football game.

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Appositives

• An appositive is a noun or a pronoun placed
  beside another noun or pronoun to identify or
  explain it.
• Appositives can either be essential (no commas)
  or non-essential (commas needed around both sides
  of noun/pronoun).

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Examples of appositives

• We went to the Navajo Gallery in Taos, New Mexico
  to see R.C. Gormans painting Freeform Lady.
  (essential, no commas)
• Namingha, a Tewa-Hopi artist, often paints
  abstract images of Hopi pueblos. (non-essential,
  commas needed)

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Identify the following appositive phrases.

• The Kenai Peninsula is the home of the Alaska
  moose, the largest moose in the world.
• We visited Boston Harbor, the site of the Boston
  Tea Party.
• A nineteenth-century female author Marian Evans
  had to publish her book Middlemarch under a male
  pseudonym, George Eliot.

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Putting it all together. Identify the type of
italicized phrases in each sentence.

1. Working on the school newspaper has taught me
   responsibility.
2. Delayed by the snowstorm, the flight from Chicago
   to Seattle was finally cleared for takeoff.
3. Todays crossword puzzle is difficult to complete
   correctly.
4. If you want to go to the concert tonight, give me
   a call after school.
5. At the beginning of class today, we sang La
   Marseiilaise, the French national anthem.

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Continued

1. Preserving rare and valuable books and documents
   is one of the challenges facing the Library of
   Congress.
2. The emu, a flightless bird from Australia, is
   similar to the ostrich.
3. Franklins history report was on Booker T.
   Washington, founder of Tuskegee Institute.
4. Refreshed by the cool breeze, I didnt object to
   going back to work.
5. The United States, a true, melting pot, has
   been greatly enriched by many diverse cultures.