Lesson 2.03 Writing Concretely

Prepositional Phrases

A preposition is one of the eight parts of speech that links a relationship between two things. A prepositional phrase begins with a preposition and ends with the object of that preposition, which is either a noun or pronoun.

Lacy left her book in the classroom.

The word in is the preposition and classroom is the object of the preposition.

Watch the video How to Use Prepositional Phrases below.

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Appositive Phrases

An appositive is a noun or pronoun that modifies, or describes, another noun or pronoun. What's the purpose of the appositive? It provides additional information about the noun or pronoun.

My friend Jane lives in Hawaii.

Jane provides additional information about friend.

An appositive phrase is the appositive plus any words that modify or describe it.

Tucker, my golden retriever, chased a cat for three blocks.

The phrase my golden retriever provides more information about Tucker. Notice that the appositive is separated by commas. The general rule is if the information is necessary for the sentence to make sense, then no commas are needed; however, if the information isn't necessary for the sentence's meaning, then commas are used.

Verbal Phrases

A verbal is a verb form that does not serve as a verb in the sentence; however, it functions as a noun, adjective, or adverb. A verbal phrase consists of a verbal and anything it modifies or describes.

There are three kinds of verbal phrases: infinitives, participles, and gerunds.

Infinitive Phrases

An infinitive is the word "to" plus a verb, but it functions as a noun (it could be the subject, direct object, or predicate nominative), adjective, or adverb.

To open the present required scissors.

The words to open begin the infinitive (to plus a verb), while the words the present modify to open. This phrase functions as the subject of the sentence.

Watch the video No Nonsense Grammar: What is a Verbal? below.

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Participle Phrases

A participle is a word that looks like a verb but functions as an adjective, while describing a noun or pronoun. The participle will end in either -ing or -ed (unless it is an irregular verb). The participial phrase is the participle plus any words it modifies or describes.

Twirling around in circles, the ballerina performed her dance.

The word twirling looks like a verb, but it really describes ballerina.

Tackled on the twenty-yard line, Derrick fumbled the ball.

The word tackled looks like a verb, but it actually describes what happened to Derrick.

Notice that both examples inserted commas after the phrase. Those are called introductory phrases, and the writer must punctuate phrases at the beginning of sentences.

Gerund Phrases

A gerund looks like a verb, but it functions as a noun. The gerund ends in -ing, so you must not confuse gerunds for participles. A gerund can serve as the subject, direct object, subject complement, or object of preposition.

A gerund phrase consists of a gerund and consists of any other word that modifies or describes it.

I love running.

This sentence is easy because it only has one word that has an -ing ending. A helpful hint detecting gerunds is to replace the word you think is a gerund with the word it or somebody.

I love it.

The replacement works; the word is a gerund.

Taking a test in the early morning makes me remember the information from the previous night.

Try the "it" test.

__________ makes me remember the information from the previous night.

The phrase is a gerund functioning as a noun.