[YOUR] BOOK OF WRITING SECTION 3 TEMPLATE AND GUIDELINES 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. All the teachers wanted to take the students on a field trip to the Zoo. Verb Phrase: A group of words consisting of verbs working together and that function as a verb. The competition judges assumed that they would be sitting the whole weekend. Prepositional Phrase: A group of words that begins with a preposition and ends with a noun, and functions as an adjective or an adverb. Melody received a standing ovation exiting the stage. 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 Verbal Phrases: A group of words that begin with a verbal and ends with a noun. Gerund Phrase verb ending in -ing that functions as a noun. The swim team spent their entire practice swimming laps back and forth. Participial Phrase word ending in -ing (present participle) or ed (past participle) that functions as an adjective. The astro camp counselors loved and boasted about the educating camp. Infinitive Phrase verbs preceded by the word “to” (to read, to study, to write) that function as nouns, adjectives, or adverbs. The contestants waited until the signal to start baking. 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. Layla was almost ready for the homecoming dance. DEPENDENT (SUBORDINATE) – CANNOT stand alone as a complete sentence and MUST begin with a SUBORDINATE CONJUNCTION. There are seven (7) kinds:
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