Phrases and Clauses

PHRASES and CLAUSES

Phrases – groups of words that function as a part of speech.

Noun Phrase: A group of words consisting of nouns or pronouns and their modifiers that function as a noun. My little brother always feared monsters in the closet. Verb Phrase: A group of words consisting of verbs working together and that function as a verb.

Her favorite activity is reading about history. Prepositional Phrase: A group of words that begins with a preposition and ends with a noun, and functions as an adjective or an adverb. Sometimes after school when my dad picks me up, before going home, we go to the

bank. Appositive Phrase: A group of words that include all the words that modify an appositive and function as an adjective - IT MUST BE SURROUNDED BY COMMAS. I am looking forward to having pozole, my favorite food, for dinner. Verbal Phrases: A group of words that begin with a verbal and end with a noun. ● Gerund Phrase verb ending in -ing that functions as a noun. My favorite pastime is television. ● Participial Phrase word ending in -ing (the present participle) or -ed (past participle) that functions as an adjective. I did the assignment sitting in the library. ● Infinitive Phrase verbs preceded by the word “to” (to read, to study, to write) that function as nouns, adjectives, or adverbs. I went home to study math.

CLAUSES

Clauses – groups of words with BOTH a subject and a verb that function as parts of speech. There are TWO kinds: Independent and Dependent (called “Subordinate”)

INDEPENDENT – CAN stand alone as a complete sentence, known as a simple sentence pattern. I want to travel the world and see wonderful sights. DEPENDENT (SUBORDINATE) – CANNOT stand alone as a complete sentence and MUST begin with a SUBORDINATE CONJUNCTION. There are seven (7) kinds:

Noun Clause: Used as the noun in a sentence and may function as a subject, a predicate noun, a direct object, an object of a preposition, an indirect object, or an appositive. ○ Where is the ice cream that was in the freezer? ○ The trophy will go to whoever wins the race. ○ While I was asleep, my cat knocked over the plant. ○ I will do whatever is necessary. Adjective Clause: Used to modify a noun in an independent clause. Some adjective clauses begin with an introductory word: ○ I do not like people who are mean to animals. ○ Students who work hard get good grades. ○ Smart people follow the rules. Some adjective clauses begin with relative pronouns: ■ The vacuum cleaner scared our cat, who was sleeping on the rug. ■ A dog whose owner lets it run loose may cause an accident. ■ The dog that is chasing the squirrels belongs to my grandma. ■ Fruit that is grown organically is expensive. ■ I know whom you talked to. ■ This movie was the sequel, which we had been waiting for. ■ We knew the actress who starred in the movie. Adverb Clause: Used to modify verbs, adjectives, and adverbs in an independent clause, introduced by subordinate conjunction, are and used to indicate time, place, cause, purpose, result, condition, and/or concession. Modifying verbs: ■ Wherever you go, you will find coca-cola. (place) ■ Sundays are when I am least busy. (time) ■ Put on your warm clothes, or you’ll catch a cold. (purpose) ■ You won’t pass unless you work hard. (condition) Modifying adjectives: ■ They dig deep to get at the roots. (how much) ■ He was happy with the way things went. (to what extent) Modifying adverbs: ■ He works efficiently on his own. (condition) Relative Clauses: Dependent clause that begins with a relative pronoun. ○ The cyclist who won the race trained hard. Elliptical Clauses: Adverb clauses in which part of the clause is omitted. ○ The pop quiz did not worry my classmates as much as me.

Essential Clauses: Clauses necessary to the meaning of the sentence. ○ I do not remember the day that my cousin was born. Nonessential Clauses: Clauses that are NOT necessary to the meaning of the sentence. ○ My grandfather, who lives on a farm, said he would teach me to ride a horse.