WEEK 3 – Phrases: Prepositional, Participial, Gerund
PHRASES: A group of words without a subject and verb,
used as a part of speech.
Prepositional Phrases: These phrases are either adjectives or
adverbs depending upon how they are used.
A prepositional phrase begins with a preposition and ends with a noun or
pronoun.
Examples:
· At
the high school, Mr. Thompson taught history. (adverbial modifying taught)
· The
gym at the high school is sold out for the big game. (adjectival modifying gym)
· In
1892, James Corbett became the heavy weight champion of boxing. (first phrase is and adverb; second phrase is
an adjective)
Same phrase used two different ways:
· Ann
found in her drink a fly. (adverb
phrase modifying found)
· The
fly in her drink bothered Ann. (adj.
phrase modifying bee)
· From
the shore, Randy caught fifteen catfish.
(adverb modifying caught)
· Greg
visited his friend from the shore
of Lake Superior. (adj. modifying friend)
Participial Phrases: These phrases function as adjectives and
contain a present or past participle.
Participles all tend to end in “’ing” (present participle), “-ed,” “-d,”
“-en,” “-n,” or “-t” with a few exceptions like “swum” and “hung.” Participial phrases are made up of a
participle along with an object or modifier or both. These adjective phrases are usually placed as
near as possible to the words they modify.
Participles are the third and fourth principle parts of verbs.
Examples:
· Fortified
against an attack, Macbeth’s army almost deserted their leader.
· Singing
“Aida” in the shower, Gary
annoyed his roommates.
· Marching
in the parade, Patrick showed his Irish pride.
· Dedicated
to the health of the poor, Mother Theresa helped others.
· Thrashing
the shore with great force, the storm pounded the rocky coast of Maine.
Gerund Phrases: Like any noun, a gerund phrase can function
as a subject, direct object, indirect object, object of the preposition, or
predicate nominative. The gerund phrase
is made up of the present participle (“-ing”) and can contain an object and/or
a modifier (and sometimes many modifiers).
The gerund is a verbal noun.
Examples:
Gerund
phrase as a subject:
· Making
the varsity team is a challenging endeavor.
· Selling
boats demands product knowledge.
Gerund phrase as a direct object:
· My
father once considered swimming the English Channel.
· The
rookie catchers practiced protecting the plate.
Gerund phrase as an indirect
object:
· If
students give learning grammar a fair chance, their writing will
improve.
· My
brother once gave swinging a golf club his undivided attention.
Gerund phrase as an Object of the
Preposition:
· Local
authorities tried to control mosquitoes by spraying insecticide.
· Carrie
got first prize by memorizing the most poetry.
Gerund phrase as a Predicate
Nominative:
· Kathy’s
hobby was collecting unusual bottles.
· Robyn’s
greatest accomplishment is singing in the opera.
· Hank’s
strength in hockey was slashing from the left.
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