English 10 / Unit 10: Grammar: Clauses, Sentence Structure and Punctuation
10.4 Phrases That Add Detail
Notes
Phrases add information without forming a full clause.
- Prepositional: under the bridge, after lunch.
- Appositive: renames a noun: Sophocles, a Greek playwright, wrote Antigone.
- Participial: a verb form used as an adjective: Exhausted by the climb, the hikers rested.
- Gerund: an -ing verb used as a noun: Swimming laps is good exercise.
- Infinitive: to + verb, used as a noun, adjective or adverb: She wants to travel.
- Absolute phrase: a noun plus a participle that modifies the whole sentence: Her hands shaking, she opened the letter.
Practice
In "Reading poetry aloud helps me notice its sounds," the phrase "Reading poetry aloud" is a:
It acts as the noun subject of the sentence.
In "My cousin, a talented violinist, performed last night," the phrase "a talented violinist" is a(n):
It renames "my cousin."
"His voice trembling, the boy began his speech." The phrase "His voice trembling" is a(n):
A noun plus a participle that modifies the whole sentence is an absolute phrase.
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