Phrases

-A phrase is a group of words used as a single part of speech. Phrases are ‘in-between’ grammatical units
that are larger than single words but smaller than sentences.

-Sentences have tensed verbs that agree with their subjects; phrases, however, never have tensed verbs, and
thus can never enter into true subject-verb agreement.

-There are six types of phrases:

1. Noun phrase = noun + all its modifiers. They always act as nouns.

2. Appositive phrases = appositive + its modifying adjectives. They act as nouns.

3. Prepositional phrases = preposition + its object noun or noun phrase. They act as modifiers; adjectives or
adverbs.

4. Gerund phrases = gerund + verb’s complements, modifiers or subject. A gerund is the present participle
acting as a noun.

5. Participial phrases = past/ present participle + verb’s complement, modifiers or subject. They act as
modifying adjectives.

6. Infinitive phrases = to + be. They consist of an infinitive with verb’s complements, modifiers, or subject.
They are used as nouns, adjectives or adverbs..

Types of Phrases Role played Example

Noun phrase Noun A sour-faced waiter took our order.

Prepositional phrase Adjective The book on the table is mine.

Adverb I saw it on the table.

Appositive phrase Noun Hamlet, Shakespeare’s play, is being performed tonight.

Gerund phrase Noun Giving up now would be a big mistake.

John’s giving up now would be a big mistake.

Participial phrase Adjective Smiling broadly, I waved back.

(present participle phrase)

Beaten badly, Senator Fogg retired.

(past participle phrase)

Infinitive phrase Noun To give up now would be a big mistake.

For John to give up now would be a big mistake.

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 Adjective That was the right decision to make.

That was the right decision for you to make.

Adverb To win now, they would need a miracle.

For them to win now, they would need a miracle.

1. Noun Phrases:
-We have already seen noun phrases. As you recall, a noun phrase is a noun together with its modifiers. The
noun phrase acts as a single part of speech- a noun. The key to identifying noun phrases is the pronoun
replacement test.

The pronoun replacement test for nouns. Whatever words are replaced by a third-person pronoun
constitute a noun phrase. Whichever word WITHIN the noun phrase determines the form of the third-
person pronoun in the noun.

-Example: A sour-faced waiter took our order

adj adj N adj N

⇨ He took it.
2. Prepositional Phrases:
-Prepositional phrases consist of a preposition followed by its object, called object of preposition. The
object of the preposition may be a single noun, a noun inside a noun phrase, or a pronoun.

-Prepositional phrases are always modifiers. If they modify nouns, they are called adjective phrases. If they
modify verbs, adjectives, or other adverb phrases.

-prepositions refer generally to space and time:

Space: across, above, behind, below, beneath, between, in, near, over, under.

Time: after, before, during, since, till.

-Some prepositions can refer to either space or time. For example:

We met in the kitchen. (space)

We met in the afternoon. (time)

-A large number of multiple-word prepositions are called compound prepositions. Example: as of today, in
addition to, next to, in spite of, because of, aside from, in place of, on account of, in front of, in case of, on
behalf of.

-Here is a table summarizing common single-word prepositions:

Abroad Beyond Out

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 But

About By Over

Above Concerning Past

Across Down Since

After During Through

Against Except Throughout

Along For Till

Among From To

Around In Toward

As Inside Under

At Into Underneath

Before Like Until

Behind Near Up

Below Of Upon

Beneath Off With

Beside On Within

between without

-One way to help you identify prepositional phrases is to look at the noun inside the prepositional phrase.
Nouns can play only three roles in a sentence: (1) subject, (2) complement of a verb (object or predicate
nominative, or (3) object of a preposition. If a noun is neither the subject of a sentence, nor the complement
of a verb, then the noun MUST be the object of a preposition.

Exercise 1: Underline all of the nouns or pronouns in the following sentences and label each according
to the role it plays: use S for subject, VC for verb complement, and OP for object of preposition.

1. Mary Ann found her keys in the kitchen.

S VC OP
2. He answered the reporter’s questions during the flight.

3. The computers in the library were replaced over Christmas.

4. We got curtains for the windows in the living room.

5. Except for the ending, I liked your ideas about your paper.

6. I haven’t had a minute to myself since lunch.

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 7. The cars in the lot have already been washed.

8. A friend of mine received an award for her writing.

9. John’s attitude toward the project is the main problem.

10. We got a good table near the window.

11. In the afternoon, we had a big thunderstorm.

a. Adjective Phrases:
-We use the pronoun replacement test to identify adjective phrases.

The pronoun replacement test for adjective phrases. If a noun and a following prepositional phrase are
both replaced by a single-third person pronoun, then the prepositional phrase must be an adjective
modifying that noun.

-A pronoun is used to replace the noun plus all its modifiers, including prepositional phrases.

-If the pronoun replaces the prepositional phrase with the noun, that prepositional phrase must be a modifier
of a noun. Example:

The book on the shelf should go back to the library.

N adj phrase

⇨ It should go back to the library.

Exercise 2: Underline adjective phrases in the following sentences. Confirm your answer by applying
the pronoun replacement test.

1. The time before dawn is always the darkest.

Answer: ‘before dawn’ ➔ adjective phrase

Confirmation: It is always the darkest.

2. Tickets to Seattle cost 338$ round-trip.

3. The apartment in the basement was all that I could afford.

4. A book by Toni Morrison was required.

5. The lamp next to my desk isn’t working.

6. Two hours between classes doesn’t give me much time.

7. We should eat the apple in the refrigerator first.

8. Several pictures at that gallery caught our eye.

9. Some instructors in white lab coats asked what we wanted.

10. I needed to find a book about Sicily.

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 11. The first of the month will be here soon.

-Adjective phrases answer ‘which’ questions about the noun they modify. Example:

Which book should go back to the library?

Answer: The one on the shelf. ➔ ‘on the shelf’ is a prepositional phrase

The ‘which’ test for adjective phrases. If a prepositional phrase gives information about which noun we
are talking about, then this prepositional phrase is an adjective phrase.

Exercise 3: Underline the adjective prepositional phrases in the following sentences. Confirm your
answer by applying the ‘which’ test.

1. The present for Jerry will be a surprise.

Answer: ‘for Jerry’➔ adjective phrase modifying noun

Confirmation: Which present will be a surprise? The one for Jerry.

2. The meeting at the hotel lasted only for a few minutes.

3. The computers in the library were updated recently.

4. All prepositional phrases in these sentences should be underlined.

5. The award for her writing was a pleasant surprise.

6. I framed the picture of my parents.

7. The meeting about class schedules has been postponed.

8. I found several books by our teacher in the library.

9. The new computers at work are much faster than the old ones.

10. I never got used to the winters in the Midwest.

11. The class in advanced Spanish was canceled.

b. Adverb Phrases:
-They modify verbs, predicate adjectives, and other adverbs, and behave like single-word adverb.

● Adverb phrases that modify verbs.

-Adverb phrases modifying verbs answer WH questions and they can be moved round the sentence.

The adverb question test for adverb phrases modifying verbs. If a prepositional phrase answers an
adverb question then that prepositional phrase is an adverb phrase modifying a verb.

Example:

‘where’: They had classes in astronomy at my high school.

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Adverb question: Where did they have classes in astronomy?

Answer: At my high school

‘When’: They unloaded the truck after dinner.

Adverb question: When did they unload the truck?

Answer: after dinner.

‘Why’: They left early because of the heat.

Adverb question: Why did they leave early?

Answer: because of the heat.

‘How’: We cleaned the tools by hand.

Adverb question: How did we clean the tools?

Answer: by hand

‘How long’: I have worked there for ages.

Adverb question: How long have you worked there?

Answer: for ages.

Exercise 4: Underline the adverb prepositional phrases in the following sentences. Confirm your
answer by applying the adverb question test.

1. I took a nap before dinner.

Answer: ‘before dinner’ ➔ adverb phrase modifying verb

Confirmation: When did I take a nap?

2. I took algebra in community college.

3. We painted the kitchen ceiling with a roller.

4. She finished her paper after class.

5. The freeway goes by the airport.

6. I stood there like a fool.

7. It must have rained during the night.

8. Our doors always stick in wet weather.

9. I got a ticket for parking there.

10. We ate breakfast at McDonald’s this morning.

11. I scheduled all my classes in the afternoon.

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The adverb movement test. If a prepositional phrase can be moved to the front of a sentence, then it must
be an adverb phrase modifying the verb.

-Concerning adverb phrases that answer ‘how’ question, the adverb movement test sounds odd.

Exercise 5: Underline the adverb prepositional phrases in the following sentences. Confirm your
answer by applying the adverb phrase movement test.

1. There is a phone booth by the front door.

Answer: ‘by the front door’ ➔ adverb phrase modifying verb

Confirmation: By the front door, there is a phone booth.

2. We are going to watch a program at eight.

3. I need to get home after class.

4. I nearly fell asleep during the lecture.

5. There was a small grocery store behind the post office.

6. We will begin the presentation in just a minute.

7. We discussed the problem before lunch.

8. John found the missing letter in a desk drawer.

9. The wind began to rise toward dawn.

10. The lawyer addressed the jury with barely concealed outrage.

11. The streets had become completely empty but for a few delivery trucks.

● Adverb phrases that modify predicate adjectives.

Examples: He is lucky at cards. (adverb phrase modifying ‘lucky’)

I am happy with my job. (adverb phrase modifying ‘happy’)

We are ready for dinner. (adverb phrase modifying ‘ready’)

They are wise beyond their years. (adverb phrase modifying ‘wise’)

-There is no specific test that helps us identify adverb phrases modifying adjectives. But the latter fails both
tests- the adverb question and movement tests. The only thing helping us is that adverb prepositional phrases
that modify predicate adjectives come just after them.

● Adverb phrases modifying other adverbs.

Examples: We went there later in the evening. (adverb phrase modifying the adverb ‘later’)

Our team had scored a touchdown earlier in the game. (adverb phrase modifying the

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 Adverb ‘earlier’)

-It is not very common to have this case, and they fail both tests for adverb phrases modifying verbs.

-They can’t be adjective phrases because there is no noun to modify.

- Because they can’t be moved, they must modify the adverb they follow.

Exercise 6: Underline the adverb phrases once and the words they modify twice. Identify the part of
speech of the words being modified. Confirm your answer by applying either the adverb phrase
question or the adverb phrase movement test.

1. The Count was sympathetic to Igor. (adverb phrase modifying the predicate adjective ‘sympathetic’)
Adj

Confirmation: Neither test can be applied.

2. They are very efficient at their jobs.

3. The soldiers paraded across the field.

4. She returned our call late in the evening.

5. I felt guilty at our behavior.

6. Everybody was upset about the accident.

7. The judge supported the defense in the Brown case.

8. The ruling seemed favorable to the prosecution.

9. We left early in the morning.

10. We were ready for any problem.

11. The offer seemed comparable with the previous offer.

3. Appositive Phrases:
-An appositive is a noun that follows another noun and pronoun to identify or explain it.
-An appositive phrase consists of an appositive plus its modifiers. It is a noun phrase that renames of
identifies another name.
-Appositive phrases are set off with commas.
Example: Ms. Guedouani, the Grammar teacher, is explaining the lesson.
-Appositive phrases are redundant (can be omitted without the loss of meaning), since they give additional
information about the noun that precedes them, so they can be deleted. Therefore, in order to identify
appositive phrases, we use the deletion test.
-We can say: Ms. Guedouani is explaining the lesson.
OR
The Grammar teacher is explaining the lesson.

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The appositive deletion test. If either of two side-by-side nouns or noun phrases can be deleted, without
making the sentence ungrammatical, then the second noun or noun phrase is an appositive to the first.

Exercise 7: Underline the appositive phrases in the following sentences. Confirm your answer by
applying the appositive deletion test.
1. Lady Montcrief, the heir to Abington Hall, stood aghast.
Answer: ‘the heir to Abington Hall’ ➔ appositive phrase
Confirmation: Lady Montcrief stood aghast. OR The heir to Abington Hall stood aghast.
2. He gave his daughter a new toy, a stuffed teddy bear.

3. PDQ Bach, an imaginary son of JS Bach, composed the Second Guest.

4. Atolls, small coral islands, cover tropical waters.

5. Watson, a slight comic figure, is the perfect foil for Holmes.

6. Calvin Coolidge, the 30th President of the USA, was known as ‘Silent Cal’.

7. The theater, one of the old movie palaces, was undergoing renovation.

8. Mr. Brown, a friend of my grandfather’s, refused to use electric lights.

9. The test, a multiple-choice philosophy exam, proved to be easy.

10. The police found his last address, an old hotel in Denver.

11. The first talking motion picture, The Jazz Singer, appeared in 1927.

● Some exceptions:
-I originally the appositive phrase is at the beginning of the sentence, it is impossible to move it, otherwise
the result would be odd. Example:
A hopeless romantic, I always want movies with happy endings.
I, a hopeless romantic, always want movies with happy endings.* (odd)
-When there are no commas, it means that the appositive phrase is essential, not redundant. If it is deleted,
the result is ungrammatical. Example:
Shakespeare’s play Hamlet is one of his longest. (‘Hamlet’ is the appositive)
Deletion test: Shakespeare’s play is one of his longest. (which play? He wrote many)

⇨ ‘Hamlet’ is essential.
Exercise 8: Underline the appositive phrases in the following sentences. If the appositive phrase is
redundant, set it off by commas. Confirm your answer by deleting the phrase.
1. Homer the Greek poet was blind.
Answer: Homer, the Greek poet, was blind.

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 Confirmation: Homer was blind.
2. The Greek poet Homer was blind.

3. Children love tortillas a type of cornmeal pancake.

4. Mr. Smith a teacher at our school greatly admires appositives.

5. My friend Amy wants to become a dentist.

6. Noel Coward wrote Private Lives his best known play in 1930.

7. The novel Pride and Prejudice is required for the course.

8. They moved to Olympia the capital of Washington State.

9. The novelist William Faulkner became a successful film writer.

10. She is going out with Richard a guy in her geology class.

11. A small start-up company Apexx made the headlines.

Sources Used:
- Mark Lester’s Grammar and Usage in the Classroom, Second Edition.

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