TYPES OF PHRASES

Noun Phrase
• A noun phrase is any noun or pronoun
along with its modifiers:
Ex. The school children
Yesterday’s newspaper
An old and rusted slinky
 Verb Phrase
• A verb phrase is any number of verbs working
together:
Ex. Had been sleeping
Will contact
May have written
Verb phrases often contain adverbs that change
the meaning of the phrase:
Ex. Has never lost
May not trespass
Am always looking
 Prepositional Phrase

• A prepositional phrase always starts

with a preposition and ends with a noun
or pronoun (and its modifiers) that is
called the object of the preposition:
Ex. Through the wheat field
Preposition: through
Object of the preposition: the wheat
field
 Verbal Phrases

• There are three types of verbal

phrases: participial phrases,
• gerund phrases, and
• infinitive phrase.
 Participial Phrase

• Participial phrases start with either a

present or past participle. Here are
some examples of each.
• Phrases with present participles:
Ex. Lounging by the pool
Chasing a butterfly
Watching silently
• Phrases with past participles:
Ex. Struck by lightning
Driven to succeed
Loaned out
 Gerund Phrase

• A gerund phrase is a present

participle (and its modifiers) that acts
like a noun. It can take on a variety of
jobs in the sentence. Here are a
couple of examples:
• Practicing helped a lot. (subject)
I love reading. (direct object)
 Infinitive Phrase

• An infinitive phrase is the infinitive and

its modifiers:
Ex. To sing
To walk all that way
To mix peanut butter and jam
• The infinitive phrase can also function in
various ways:
• To give to charity is a noble thing.
(subject)
• The neighbours have promised to
stop playing the drums at night. (direct
object)
 Appositive Phrase

• An appositive phrase is a phrase that

renames an earlier noun or pronoun:
• Example
• My best friend, Nick Palacio, loves scuba
diving.
We watched Sirius, the brightest star in
the sky.
• In these examples, the appositive is a noun
phrase. But you can use other phrases as
appositives too:
• My dream, to make it to the NBA, is what
keeps me going. (infinitive phrase)
• Matthew’s special talent, bouncing on his
head on the trampoline, gives him a
unique perspective on life. (participial
phrase)
 Absolute Phrase
• Absolute phrases are the trickiest to identify.
These phrases are not closely connected to the
rest of the sentence; they don’t describe a
specific word, but modify the whole sentence.
They add extra information and are usually
separated by commas (or dashes).
• At the heart of an absolute phrase you will find
a noun or pronoun and some modifiers.
• Very often the modifier is a participle:
 Examples
• The semester finished, Karen sold all her
textbooks.
Absolute phrase: The semester finished.

• The ice finally frozen over, we went skating.

Absolute phrase: The ice finally frozen over.
• Another way to form an absolute phrase is to
add an adjective to your noun or pronoun:
• Her skin sweaty and hot, Tamara looked
forward to having a shower.
• Absolute phrase: Her skin sweaty and hot.
 Activity
1. The boy at the back likes to tease me.
2. I am going to the beach.
3. Give the pencil to the teacher.
4. My friend Sarah Jones won the talent show.
5. The very difficult test made me tired.
6. Marie walked extremely slowly to the office.
7. Putting on makeup is something I don't like to do.
8. I really like to read.
9. The man getting out of the car is my dad.
10. I would like cheeseburgers and fries for dinner.
• Examples of Types of Phrases:
• The boy at the back likes to tease me. (noun phrase)
• I am going to the beach. (verb phrase)
• Give the pencil to the teacher. (prepositional phrase-adverb
phrase)
• My friend Sarah Jones won the talent show (appositive phrase)
• The very difficult test made me tired. (adjective phrase)
• Marie walked extremely slowly to the office. (adverb phrase)
• Putting on makeup is something I don't like to do (verbal-gerund)
• I really like to read. (verbal-infinitive)
• The man getting out of the car is my dad. (verbal-participial)
 CLAUSES
• Clauses are the building blocks of the
English language. Any sentence that
you write which has a subject (the
doer of the action) and a verb (an
action word) is called a clause.
 Two kinds of Clauses
• a. Principal or Main Clause
A main clause is a clause that contains
a subject and an object. They make sense
on their own.
"I like ice-cream and I like chocolate" is
a compound sentence made up of two
main clauses.
 b. Subordinate Clause
• A subordinate clause contains a subject
and a verb but it depends on the main
clause for making sense as it does not
make complete sense on its own. 
• "I will go to the market if you come with
me" is a complex sentence. It has a
main clause 'I will go to the market' and
a subordinate clause 'if you come with
me'.
• A subordinate conjunction is a word
that joins ideas together and shows
the relationship between ideas. Some
of the subordinate conjunctions that
you may already know are 'because,'
'although,' 'where,' and 'after.'
Subordinate conjunctions may
represent time, cause and effect, and
contrast.
 Noun Clause
• is a group of words which contains a
Subject and Predicate of its own, and
does the work of a noun.
• For example, "I like what I see" as a
way of saying "I like cakes". The
highlighted portion is a clause that is
functioning as noun.
List of Relative Pronouns

• Who
• Whom
• That
• Which
• Whose
• Whoever
• Whomever
 Adjective/ Relative Clause
• Usually comes after the noun it qualifies and
is made up of several words which, like all
clauses, will include a subject and a verb. It
answers the adjective questions 'What kind?
How many? or Which one?"
• For example, "The umbrella which has a
broken handle is mine. "The highlighted
portion is a clause that is functioning as an
adjective.
 Adverb Clause
• a group of words which contains a
Subject and Predicate of its own, and
does the work of an adverb. It answers
the adverb questions How? When?
Where? Or Why? For example, "You
may sit wherever you like."
The highlighted portion is a clause that is
functioning as an adverb.
 Quiz
• Identify the clauses and point it whether it is a Noun
Clause, Adjective Clause, Adverb Clause.
1.The bankers need to know what they should do.
2. The books, which are lost, are not really necessary.
3. Whether you like it or not, you have to go to bed now.
4. Students who are intelligent get good grades.
5. No one knows who he is.
6. When I was younger, I thought so.
7. He laughs best who laughs last.
8. I went to see what had happened.
9. He met a girl whose eyes were blue.
10. I shall remain where I am.
• Answer Key
• 1. what they should do-Noun Clause
• 2. which are lost-Adjective Clause
• 3. Whether you like it or not-Adverb Clause
• 4. who are intelligent-Adjective Clause
• 5. who he is-Noun Clause
• 6. when I was younger-Adverb Clause
• 7. who laughs last-Adjective Clause
• 8. what had happened-Noun Clause
• 9. whose eyes were blue-Adjective Clause
• 10. where I am-Adverb Clause
• Relative Pronouns Exercises
• The following exercises will help you gain greater understanding about how relative pronouns work. Choose the best answer to complete each
sentence.
1. The festival, ­______________ lasted all day, ended with a banquet.
That , Who, Which, What
2. I am looking for someone __________ can watch my dog while I go on vacation.
Which, Who, Whom, Whoever
3. The police needed details _____________ could help identify the robber.
Who, Whatever, That, What
4. I’d like to take you to a café _______________ serves excellent coffee.
What, Whatever, Which, Whichever
5. The clubhouse, in __________ the dance was held, housed about 200 people.
Which, Where, That, Whom
6. You can choose one person, __________ you like, to share the cruise with you.
Whomever, That, Which,Whom
• I saw the shoes __________ you bought last week on sale for less this week.
– When
– That
– Who
– Whom
• The winners, __________ known, will receive money and other prizes.
– Whoever
– Who
– When
– That
• This is the place __________ we met.
– When
– Where
– Who
– That
• The baby, ________ nap had been interrupted, wailed loudly.
– Whosw
– Whomever
– Whom
– Who
• Answers
• C – The festival, which lasted all day, ended with a banquet.
• B – I am looking for someone who can watch my dog while I go on vacation.
• C – The police needed details that could help identify the robber.
• C – I’d like to take you to a café which serves excellent coffee.
• A – The clubhouse, in which the dance was held, housed about 200 people.
• A – You can choose one person, whomever you like, to share the cruise with
you.
• B – I saw the shoes that you bought last week on sale for less this week.
• C – The winners, when known, will receive money and other prizes.
• B – This is the place where we met.
• A – The baby, whose nap had been interrupted, wailed loudly.
• List of Relative Pronouns