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Read the poem “The Basketball Player” by Justin. What do you notice about each
line of the poem? With what words do they start? Does each line express a complete
thought?
The Basketball Player
by Justin
During the championship,
Near the bench,
Outside the three-point line,
On the court,
Between the defenders,
Over the block,
Through the defense,
By the basket,
At the backyard,
Off the rim,
Into the net,
Shot the sweaty basketball player.

The beginning word of each line is called a preposition. These lines do not
express a complete thought because they are just phrases.
What is It
Before we proceed to discuss the kinds of phrases, let’s read first a short
story entitled “The Man and the Little Cat.”
One day, an old man was having a stroll in the forest when he suddenly saw
a little cat stuck in a hole. The poor animal was struggling to get out. So, he gave him
his hand to get him out. But the cat scratched his hand with fear. The man pulled his
hand screaming with pain. But he did not stop; he tried to give his hand to the cat
again and again. Another man was watching the scene, screamed with surprised.
“Stop helping this cat! He’s going to get himself out of there.” The other man did not
care about him, he just continued saving that animal until he finally succeeded, and
then he walked to the man and said, “Son, it is cat’s instincts that makes him to
scratch
and to hurt, and it is my job to love and to care.” (Source: Department of Education
“Personality Development” p.82)
The underlined words are phrases. They are the following:
•noun phrase •verb phrase •prepositional phrase
A. Noun Phrase
1. Definition
Noun phrase is a phrase that has a noun as its head or performs the same function
as a noun.
Example:
Noun Phrase
Bryan’s birthday is on August 31. In this sentence, the subject is the noun phrase
Bryan’s birthday.
2. Functions of a noun phrase
a. As a subject of a verb
Example: The tall tree fell down in the storm.
In this sentence, the phrase ‘the tall tree’ functions as the subject of the
verb ‘fell’ and it is therefore a noun phrase.
b. As object of a Verb

4
The beginning word of each line is called a preposition. These lines do not
express a complete thought because they are just phrases.
What is It
Before we proceed to discuss the kinds of phrases, let’s read first a short
story entitled “The Man and the Little Cat.”
One day, an old man was having a stroll in the forest when he suddenly saw
a little cat stuck in a hole. The poor animal was struggling to get out. So, he gave him
his hand to get him out. But the cat scratched his hand with fear. The man pulled his
hand screaming with pain. But he did not stop; he tried to give his hand to the cat
again and again. Another man was watching the scene, screamed with surprised.
“Stop helping this cat! He’s going to get himself out of there.” The other man did not
care about him, he just continued saving that animal until he finally succeeded, and
then he walked to the man and said, “Son, it is cat’s instincts that makes him to
scratch
and to hurt, and it is my job to love and to care.” (Source: Department of Education
“Personality Development” p.82)
The underlined words are phrases. They are the following:
•noun phrase •verb phrase •prepositional phrase
A. Noun Phrase
1. Definition
Noun phrase is a phrase that has a noun as its head or performs the same function
as a noun.
Example:
Noun Phrase
Bryan’s birthday is on August 31. In this sentence, the subject is the noun phrase
Bryan’s birthday.
2. Functions of a noun phrase
a. As a subject of a verb
Example: The tall tree fell down in the storm.
In this sentence, the phrase ‘the tall tree’ functions as the subject of the
verb ‘fell’ and it is therefore a noun phrase.
b. As object of a Verb