Grammar Smart 3rd Edition - Princeton Review 2014

D. Phrases
Part 2. The Sentence

A phrase is a group of words that acts as a part of speech rather than as a complete sentence. You already know the function of a noun, adjective, or adverb—a phrase merely takes on one of those functions. A phrase does not have a subject and a verb. The two main kinds of phrases are prepositional phrases and verbal phrases.

Prepositional Phrases

By far the most common kind of phrase is the prepositional phrase, which begins, incredibly, with a preposition, and ends with a noun. (See Prepositions, Part 1, Section F.) Let’s return to our sentence.

Because she was in a snit, Wanda walked quickly with a towel to the beach.

Again, the prepositional phrases are in a snit, with a towel, and to the beach. Let’s look at what these phrases are doing in the sentence.

in a snit describes Wanda, so in a snit is an adjective phrase.

with a towel also describes Wanda; it, too, is an adjective phrase.

to the beach describes where Wanda walked, so it is an adverb phrase.

All of these phrases are still prepositional phrases, and prepositional phrases usually act either as adjectives or adverbs. Occasionally a prepositional phrase acts as a noun.

Before dinner is a good time to do homework. (Before dinner is the subject of is)

Quick Quiz #19

Finding Prepositional Phrases

Note the prepositional phrases. Notice that without the prepositional phrases, you still have a sentence that can stand by itself.

1. In a huff, Deidre marched to the party.

2. Her boyfriend, in a new suit, stood out in the crowd.

3. Many of the partygoers wore socks on their hands.

4. Deidre could see a couple kissing across the room.

5. Beyond the kissing couple she noticed a table heaped with a pile of socks, and under the table was a stack of CDs.

Verbals

Another kind of phrase is the verbal—infinitives, gerunds, and participles. As you can tell from the name, they are related to verbs. They looked verby, but never act as verbs. Instead they act as nouns, adjectives, or adverbs. Let’s look at the three types.

Infinitive Phrases

When the preposition to is followed by a noun, it is a prepositional phrase: to the beach. When to is followed by a verb—to run, to see, to feel—it is an infinitive. Why does this matter? The rules that govern infinitives are different from the rules that govern prepositional phrases; also, since infinitives are closely related to verbs, they can have a passive or active voice as well be in the present or perfect tense.

Wanda wanted to leave. (What did Wanda want? To leave, an infinitive phrase acting as a noun.)

He works hard to make money. (Why does he work? to make money, an infinitive phrase acting as a adverb, modifying work.)

To read is to be transported to another world. (To read is an infinitive acting as a noun, and the subject of is; to be transported is an infinitive acting as a noun, the object of is; to another world is a prepositional phrase acting as an adverb, telling where transported.) (Whew!)

To play around with the infinitives we’ve already used, let’s change them slightly.

Wanda wanted to have left. (to have left is an infinitive phrase, perfect tense)

To have read is to have been transported to another world. (to have read is a perfect infinitive phrase; to have been transported is a perfect passive infinitive phrase)

A Moment of Reassurance: No one, except maybe your grammar teacher, is ever going to ask you to identify a perfect passive infinitive phrase. So relax. What is important is being able to identify the parts of the sentence, including the subject and verb. Sometimes the subject of the sentence is not anything as simple as I or Wanda—it might be something more complicated, like To have read. Don’t worry too much about the details, but be able to spot an infinitive when you see one, whether it is passive or active, present or perfect.

Quick Quiz #20

Finding Infinitives

Note the infinitive phrases.

1. When Deirdre saw her boyfriend, she wanted to scream.

2. She talked to her friend Bob, who wanted to be told why everyone was wearing socks on their hands.

3. Deirdre wanted to know why her boyfriend was such a cad.

4. To have been in love is to have suffered.

5. She needed to find him and to hold his sock-covered hand.

Gerund Phrases

A gerund is an -ing verb that acts as a noun. Since it acts as a noun, it can be the subject of a sentence or the object of a verb or preposition.

Daydreaming was her favorite pastime.

Winning the lottery is my only hope.

She loved eating pastries and staying up all night.

Use ownership words instead of subject or object pronouns before a gerund.

Mark’s leaving caused a great stir.

Not:  Mark leaving caused a great stir.

Wanda was ecstatic about his choosing her as his successor.

Not:  Wanda was ecstatic about him choosing her as his successor.

Quick Quiz #21

Finding Gerunds

Note the gerunds below. Note that they always perform the function of a noun.

1. Bob hated cleaning.

2. Partying and talking on the phone took up most of his time.

3. He was thinking of hiring someone to clean his apartment but unfortunately, spending money was another thing he hated.

Participial Phrases

These are simply phrases that have verbs but not subjects. A participle is really half of a verb.

past participle     verb    present participle

fallen      had fallen    falling

screaming     was screaming   screaming

See the difference? A participle can’t take a subject, because it’s missing part of the verb. A participle looks like a verb, but it isn’t complete.

The function of a participial phrase is to modify a noun—in other words, a participial phrase acts as an adjective.

Had or have plus a past participle gives you a verb in the past perfect tense. Is or are plus a present participle gives you a verb in present progressive. But by itself, a participle isn’t a complete verb. It can, however, act as an adjective.

Lying on her bed, Wanda ordered Chinese food.

Screaming with laughter, the secretaries hid under their desks.

Dolores, left behind at the office, wept over her spreadsheets.

The socks lost in the dryer were her favorites.

See how each participial phrase tells us something about a noun? Lying on her bed describes Wanda, screaming with laughter describes the secretaries, and lost in the dryer describes the socks. Notice that Wanda is the subject of the verb ordered; secretaries is the subject of hid; socks is the subject of were. So lying, screaming, left, and lost have no subject; instead of acting as verbs, they are describing the subject of the sentence. Recognizing participial phrases is crucial in avoiding the dreaded misplaced modifier or dangling participle. See Part 3, Section C.

Quick Quiz #22

Identifying Participial Phrases

Note the participial phrases in the following sentences. Remember that the function of a participial phrase is to modify a noun or pronoun.

1. Walking quickly to work, Bob realized he was wearing only one shoe.

2. Too tired to turn back, he thought that maybe his co-workers would think he was on the cutting edge of fashion.

3. His desk, covered with piles of papers and pone messages, was the only safe place.

4. Throwing himself into his work, he forgot about his missing shoe, and wandered out into the hallway for a drink of water.

5. Laughing and pointing, Bob’s colleagues gathered around to stare at his naked foot.