Phrases

Contents:

Identifying noun phrases

Identifying verb phrases

Identifying prepositional phrases

Identifying verbal phrases

Identifying absolute phrases

Identifying appositive phrases

A phrase is a group of words that lacks a subject or a predicate or both.

Identifying noun phrases

Made up of a noun and all its modifiers, a noun phrase can function in a sentence as a subject, object, or complement.

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Identifying verb phrases

A main verb and its auxiliary verbs make up a verb phrase, which can function in a sentence only as a verb.

Frank can swim for a long time.

His headaches might have been caused by tension.

Identifying prepositional phrases

A prepositional phrase begins with a preposition and includes a noun or pronoun (the object of the preposition) and any modifiers of the object. Prepositional phrases usually function as adjectives or adverbs.

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Identifying verbal phrases

Verbals look like verbs, but they function as nouns, adjectives, or adverbs. There are three kinds of verbals: participles, gerunds, and infinitives.

Participles and participial phrases

The present participle is the -ing form of a verb (spinning). The past participle of most verbs ends in -ed (accepted), but some verbs have an irregular past participle (worn, frozen). Participles function as adjectives.

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Participial phrases, which also act as adjectives, consist of a present or past participle and any modifiers, objects, or complements.

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Gerunds and gerund phrases

The gerund has the same -ing form as the present participle but functions as a noun.

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Gerund phrases, which function as nouns, consist of a gerund and any modifiers, objects, or complements.

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Infinitives and infinitive phrases

The infinitive is the to form of a verb (to dream, to be). An infinitive can function as a noun, an adjective, or an adverb.

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Infinitive phrases consist of an infinitive and any modifiers, objects, or complements. Like infinitives, they function as nouns, adjectives, or adverbs.

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Identifying absolute phrases

An absolute phrase usually includes a noun or pronoun and a participle. It modifies an entire sentence rather than a particular word and is usually set off from the rest of the sentence with commas.

I stood on the deck, the wind whipping my hair.

My fears laid to rest, I set off on my first solo flight.

When the participle is being, it is often omitted.

The ambassador, her head [being] high, walked out of the room.

Identifying appositive phrases

An appositive phrase is a noun phrase that renames the noun or pronoun that immediately precedes it.

The report, a hefty three-volume work, included more than ninety recommendations.

We had a single desire, to change the administration’s policies.