Tuesday, February 20, 2018

More About Types of Phrases



Phrases can't stand on their own at all. 
They are missing either a subject or a verb, or both.


  • fluffy blankets
  • has been laughing
  • under the sink
  • rather quickly


The job a word does in a sentence is called its part of speech.
When a phrase does that job in a sentence, that is its part of speech.


Some of the Jobs the words and phrases do in sentences:

nouns
The boy jumped over the low wall.  

noun phrases
Aunt Audrey's dog jumped over the low brick wall.
The dog on the sofa left long brown hairs behind.


verbs
The boy jumped over the low wall.

verb phrase
The boy was jumping skillfully over the low wall.


adverbs
The boy was jumping skillfully.

adverb phrase 
The boy was jumping extremely skillfully.

Prepositional Phrases can function as adverb phrases or as adjective phrases.
Examples of prepositional phrases functioning as adverbs:
Karen stepped onto the boat.
The ballerina danced across the floor.
During the show, the baby slept
Put your homework in the basket.

adjectives 
The elderly woman is my Aunt Carol.
adjective phrases 
The blonde, slim, elderly woman is my Aunt Carol. 

Examples of prepositional phrases functioning as adjective phrases:
The woman on the boat is my Aunt Carol.
Please wash the dishes in the sink
Are the shoes under the chair yours? 
The house across the street is mine. 
The superhero behind the sofa belongs to Sam.