University of Abulkacem Sadallah/ Department of English/S1

Grammar / 2021 /Week 2/ Instructor: Mrs. Kater Meriem.

Activities on word functions and Phrases

Activity one: In the following paragraph, label each of the underlined

elements (Types of phrases), and label their functions as a subject (S), verb
(V), object (O), complement (C), modifier (M), or conjunction (Conj).

Our Sun is a sphere of superheated gas. Hydrogen atoms at its core (1) fuse,
creating the atomic reactions that produce both (2)light and energy. Scientists
estimate (3) that the temperature of the Sun’s core is twenty million degrees
centigrade, (4) while the surface temperature is approximately six thousand
degrees centigrade. (5)The diameter of the Sun is roughly 850,000 miles.
These figures suggest that our Sun is (6)neither a hot nor a large star when
compared with others in our solar system.
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…………… 4. …………………. 5.................. .............6....................................
Activity Two:
 Do words or structures have functions when they exist alone( outside a
sentence) ?
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 What are the different types of phrases?
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 What is a phrase that describes an adjective, an adverb, or a verb
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 Activity three: Underline the structures functioning as adjectival in the
sentences that follow.
 Having an exam tomorrow, my sister is hitting the books.
 The old woman lives in a stone house.
 I do not know the woman in black.
 The girl wearing a black shirt belongs to the other group.
The day when we first met was a happy day.

Activity four: are these sentences true/false, if false justify.

1. A phrase is a group of words that functions in a sentence as a single part

of speech.
2. The italic portion of the following sentence is a prepositional phrase:
Frisky, my loyal Irish setter, can always sense when I’m upset.
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3. The italic portion in the following sentence is functioning as an
adjectival phrase:
The fireworks continued late into the night.
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4. Gerunds function as nouns, adjectives, or adverbs.
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5. The italic portion in the following sentence is functioning as an
adjectival phrase:
He ran as if he had a torn ligament.
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