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Prepositional Phrases


A prepositional phrase is a group of words that begins with a preposition and ends with a noun or a pronoun. This noun or pronoun is called the “object of the preposition.”

Here are some sample prepositional phrases:


* By the ocean
* Near the window
* Over the cabinet
* With us
* In your ear
* Under your hat

You can connect two or more prepositional phrases with a coordinating conjunction. The seven coordinating conjunctions are for, and, nor, but, or, yet, and so. For example

* The resort is beside the mountain and by the lake.
The coordinating conjunction is and.

* You can usually find Macho Marvin in the steam room, on the exercise bike, or under the barbells.
The coordinating conjunction is or.


Adjectival Phrases

When a prepositional phrase serves as an adjective, it's called an adjectival phrase. (That was a no-brainer, eh? Who says you don't get a break in this English biz?)

An adjectival phrase, as with an adjective, describes a noun or a pronoun. Here are some examples:

* The manager with the pink slips terrorized the employees.
The adjectival phrase “with the pink slips” describes the noun “manager.”

* The price of the promotion was much too steep.
The adjectival phrase “of the promotion” describes the noun “price.”

* Something in the corner of the desk was moving.
The adjectival phrase “in the corner” describes the noun “something”; the adjectival phrase “of the desk” describes the noun “corner.”



Adverbial Phrases


Like Meryl Streep or Kevin Kline, the prepositional phrase is a versatile creature, able to slip into different roles. Depending on how it is used in a sentence, a prepositional phrase can function as an adverbial phrase by modifying a verb, an adjective, or an adverb. For example:

* She lost her head at the retro love-in.
The adverbial phrase “at the retro love-in” describes the verb “lost.”

* The salesperson skimmed over the product's real cost.
The adverbial phrase “over the product's real cost” modifies the verb “skimmed.”

* The boss was thrilled at their attitude.
The adverbial phrase “at their attitude” modifies the adjective “thrilled.”

* The rock climbers arrived late at night.
The adverbial phrase “at night” modifies the adverb “late".
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Appositives


An appositive is a noun or a pronoun that renames another noun or pronoun. Appositives are placed directly after the noun or pronoun they identify. For example:

* Bob's car, a wreck, died a grisly death by the side of the interstate.
The appositive “a wreck” renames the noun, “car.”

* Spot, a cat, should understand my moods.
The appositive “a cat” renames the noun, “Spot.”
* She, my sister, is always late.
The appositive “my sister” renames the pronoun “she.”


Some appositives are essential to the meaning of the sentence; others are not. Be sure to use commas carefully to establish meaning with essential and nonessential appositives. Otherwise your sentences will not make sense, as these examples show:


Confusing: Do you know my friend Bill?

Is Bill the friend or is the speaker talking to Bill?

Clear: Do you know my friend, Bill?



Appositive Phrases


Appositive phrases are nouns or pronouns with modifiers. Appositive phrases provide additional information and description to the sentence. As with solitary appositives, appositive phrases are placed near the noun or pronoun they describe. For example:

* Columbia University, the second-largest landowner in New York City (after the Catholic Church), is part of the Ivy League.

* David Prowse, the guy in the Darth Vader suit in the Star Wars movies, did not find out that his lines were going to be dubbed over by James Earl Jones until he saw the screening of the movie.
Appositives are great stylistic devices because they allow you to eliminate unnecessary words and put more information in one sentence. They can also help you …


1. Create more graceful sentences.
2. Eliminate repetition.
3. Create a beat or rhythm in your writing.
4. Make your writing more interesting.


Here's an example:

Two sentences: Phineas T. Barnum was a great American showman. Barnum was near death in 1891 when a New York newspaper asked if he'd like to have his obituary published while he could still read it.

One sentence: Phineas T. Barnum, a great American showman, was near death in 1891 when a New York newspaper asked if he'd like to have his obituary published while he could still read it.




Verbal Phrases


A verbal is a verb form used as another part of speech. Like Gaul, verbals come in three varieties: participles, gerunds, and infinitives. Each type has a different function in a sentence:

* Participles function as adjectives.
* Gerunds function as nouns.
* Infinitives function as nouns, adjectives, or adverbs.

Although a verbal doesn't function as a verb in a sentence, it does retain two qualities of a verb:


* A verbal can be described by adverbs and adverbial phrases.
* A verbal can add modifiers to become a verbal phrase.

Let's get to know the three verbals a little better.


Part and Participle


A participle is a form of a verb that functions as an adjective. There are two kinds of participles: present participles and past participles.

* Present participles end in -ing (jumping, burning, speaking).
* Past participles usually end in -ed, -t, or -en (jumped, burnt, spoken).

In the mood to add some participle action to your sentences? Here's how you do it:

* The howling children disturbed the neighbors.
The present participle “howling” describes the noun “children.”

* Fred Flintstone gave Barney Rubble a crumbling rock.
The present participle “crumbling” describes the noun “rock.”

* The frozen candy bar broke her $900 bridgework.
The past participle “frozen” describes the noun “candy bar.”

* Annoyed, Rita ate dinner by herself in the bathroom.
The past participle “annoyed” describes the noun “Rita.”


Don't confuse participles and verbs. Participles aren't preceded by a helping verb, as these examples show:


* The sputtering car jerked down the road. (participle)
* The car was sputtering down the road. (verb)


Participle phrases contain a participle modified by an adverb or an adverbial phrase. The whole kit and caboodle acts as an adjective, as these examples show.


* Swimming slowly, I didn't notice the shark on my tail.
The participle phrase “swimming slowly” describes the pronoun “I.”

* Annoyed by its heavy breathing, I told it to get lost.

The participle phrase “Annoyed by its heavy breathing” describes the pronoun “I.” However, the participle phrase can also be placed after the word it describes. In that case, it is usually set off by commas, as in this example:

* “My sister, burning the toast, looked distracted.”


Like appositives, participles and participle phrases are an indispensable part of the writer's bag of tricks because they allow you to create concise and interesting sentences. Use them to combine information from two or more sentences into one sentence. Notice how much more punch the following sentence has when it is combined by using a participle:

Two sentences: Noel Coward made a slight but pointed adjustment to an old cliché. He once described another writer as every other inch a gentleman.

One sentence: Making a slight but pointed adjustment to the old cliché, Noel Coward once described another writer as every other inch a gentleman.



Gerund Phrases

A gerund is a form of a verb used as a noun. Remember the following two guidelines when you hunt for gerunds:

* Gerunds always end in -ing.
* Gerunds always act as nouns.


Gerunds can function as subjects, direct objects, indirect objects, objects of a preposition, predicate nominatives, and appositives. Here are some examples of gerunds:

* Leroy expanded his skills by studying.


The gerund “studying” is the object of the preposition “by.”

* At the age of 10, Irving started running.


The gerund “running” is a direct object.

* My mother's sole occupation, kvetching, makes her tedious company.


The gerund “kvetching” (an especially virulent form of complaining) is an appositive in this sentence.

Like a participle, a gerund can be part of a phrase. In that case, the whole package is called a gerund phrase. (Got you with that one, didn't I?) Here are some gerund phrases busy at work in their sentences:

* The quiet, steady rowing soothed him.
The gerund phrase is “the quiet, steady rowing.”

* My evening routine features jogging slowly around the block.
The gerund phrase is “jogging slowly around the block.”

* Thousands of “Dead Heads” show their dedication to their departed leader by following what's left of The Grateful Dead around the country.


The gerund phrase is “following what's left of The Grateful Dead around the country.”


Infinitive Phrases


Last but not least we have the infinitive, a form of the verb that comes after the word to and acts as a noun, adjective, or adverb. Versatile little babies, infinitives can fill as many roles as gerunds, with the addition of adjectives and adverbs. Here are some examples:

* To succeed takes courage, foresight, and luck.
The infinitive is “to succeed,” and it functions as the subject.

* Alone in her cubicle, all she wanted was to survive.
The infinitive is “to survive,” and it functions as the direct object.

* Afraid to move, she froze in terror.
The infinitive is “to move,” and it modifies the adverb “afraid.”

An infinitive can be used as a phrase. An infinitive phrase, as with the other verbal phrases, contains modifiers that together act as a single part of speech. Following are some examples:

* His goal, to break into Fort Knox, was never achieved.
The infinitive phrase is “to break into Fort Knox” and modifies the noun “goal.”


* The pilgrim's hope was to reach the shrine before sundown.
The infinitive phrase “to reach the shrine before sundown” describes “hope.”
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Clauses



Introduction

Here you'll meet independent and dependent clauses, including adverb, adjective, and noun clauses. Along the way, you learn how to use clauses to add description, show relationships between ideas, and eliminate unnecessary words.

You've got words, you've got phrases, and now you've got clauses. The progression suggests that clauses are pumped up phrases. Indeed, clauses tend to be beefier than phrases. That's because a clause is a group of words with its own subject and verb.

Like phrases, clauses enrich your written and oral expression by adding details and making your meaning more exact. Clauses also allow you to combine ideas to show their relationship. This adds logic and cohesion, very good things when you're trying to communicate.

There are two types of clauses:

independent clauses (main clauses) and dependent clauses (subordinate clauses and relative clauses).
  • An independent clause is a complete sentence; it can stand alone.
  • A dependent (subordinate) clause is part of a sentence; it cannot stand alone.


Here are some examples of each type of clause.

Dependent Clause ------------------- Independent Clause

Until Captain Cooke returned from ------ Tattooing was not known in the
his voyage to Tahiti, -------------------------Western World.


Although they had the worst ------------- The New York Mets won the
batting average in baseball,----------------- World Series in 1969.




Independent Clauses :

An independent clause contains a subject and a predicate. It can stand alone as a sentence because it expresses a complete thought. The three independent clauses shown on the previous chart all contain a subject and a verb and express a complete idea.

The following table shows some independent clauses divided into their subjects and predicates.


Subject --------------- Predicate

The door ------------------ opened.
Dancing -------------------burns up 200 to 400 calories per hour.
It ------------------------- was the fifth game of the 1956 Series.




Dependent Clauses:

Dependent clauses add additional information to the main clauses, but they are not necessary to form a complete thought. They do not form a complete thought by themselves. Although each of the dependent clauses shown on the first chart in this section has a subject and a verb, it does not express a complete thought. As a result, it cannot stand alone. A dependent clause is like a child; it's unable to support itself but able to cause a lot of problems if crossed.

A dependent clause often starts with a word that makes the clause unable to stand alone. Look back at the three dependent clauses on the first chart. The words used here are until, although, and because, respectively. These words are subordinating conjunctions, as you learned in Parts of Speech. We'll review subordinating conjunctions in a few minutes.



Subordinating Conjunctions

Subordinating conjunctions link an independent clause to a dependent clause. Each subordinating conjunction expresses a relationship between the meaning of the dependent clause and the meaning of the independent clause.


For example, some conjunctions show time order; others, result or effect. The following table shows the most common subordinating conjunctions and the relationships they express.



Relationship ------------------------- Examples

Condition ------------------------- unless, provided that, if, even if
Reason --------------------------------- because, as, as if
Choice ------------------------------ rather than, than, whether
Contrast ------------------------- though, although, even though, but
Location ---------------------------------where, wherever
Result, effect ------------------------ in order that, so, so that, that
Time ---------------------------------while, once, when, since, whenever, after, before, until, as soon as
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Adverb Clauses

Dependent clauses can function as adverbs. In this case, they are called adverb clauses. (Bet I didn't surprise you with that one.) An adverb clause is a dependent clause that describes a verb, adjective, or another adverb. As with regular old garden-variety adverbs, an adverb clause answers these questions:

Quote:
Where?
Why?
When?
To what extent?
Under what condition?
In what manner?


All adverb clauses start with a subordinating conjunction. You reviewed some of the most common subordinating conjunctions in the previous section; here are a few more that you can use to link ideas and show how they are related:

Quote:
As long as
As soon as
As though
In

Examples :

You can place an adverb clause in the beginning, middle, or end of a sentence. Refer to these examples of adverb clauses as you fashion your own.

Wherever she goes, she leaves a piece of luggage behind.
The adverb clause “wherever she goes” modifies the verb “leaves.”


Bob enjoyed the movie more than I did.
The adverb clause “than I did” modifies the adverb “more.”


Prince wanted to change his name because too many dogs answered when he was called.
The adverb clause “because too many dogs answered when he was called” modifies the verb “wanted.”



Shape Up Your Sentences

You sweat for rock-hard abs, firm pecs, and a tight, uh, southern hemisphere. Why not give your sentences a good workout to make them as healthy as your bod? Adverb clauses can help you eliminate sentence flab. For instance:

Two sentences: Sean Connery had worked as both a bricklayer and a truck driver. This was before he became the original James Bond.

One sentence: Before he became the original James Bond, Sean Connery had worked as both a bricklayer and a truck driver.






Adjective Clauses

Here's another type of clause: the adjective clause. Like adverb clauses, adjective clauses are of the dependent variety.

Adjective clauses describe nouns and pronouns. They add detail to sentences by functioning as adjectives. Obviously, you can tell an adjective clause by its function, but there's also another little clue: Most adjective clauses start with the pronouns who, whom, whose, which, that, when, or where. Adjective clauses that begin with one of the relative pronouns are also called relative clauses.

Here are some other pronouns that can start an adjective clause:


Quote:
Whoever
Whomever
Whichever
What
Whatever
Why

You can identify an adjective clause because it answers the adjective questions: “Which one?” or “What kind?”

Here are some examples of adjective clauses:


The only one of the seven dwarfs who does not have a beard is Dopey.
The adjective clause “who does not have a beard” describes the noun “one.”


I found a quiet, secluded place where we can meet.
The adjective clause “where we can meet” describes the noun “place.”


It never rains on days when my garden needs watering.
The adjective clause “when my garden needs watering” describes the noun “days.”


Relative Clauses:

Adjective clauses that begin with one of the relative pronouns are also called relative clauses. Here are the relative pronouns: who, whom, whose, which, and that.

As you learned in Parts of Speech, relative pronouns connect (or “relate”—get it?) an adjective clause to the word the clause describes. In addition, relative pronouns function within the clause as an adjective, subject, direct object, or object of a preposition. For instance:


1. Relative pronoun as an adjective:

The boy whose book I borrowed is very hunky.
The relative clause “whose book I borrowed” describes the noun “boy.”


2. Relative pronoun as a subject:

The bird that is soaring in the sky is a seagull.
The relative clause “that is soaring in the sky” functions as a subject.


3. Relative pronoun as a direct object:

The book that you panned is really very good.
The relative clause “that you panned” is the direct object of the subject “you.”


4. Relative pronoun as the object of a preposition:

The woman of whom you spoke is my boss.
The relative clause “whom you spoke” is the object of the preposition “of.”



Clauses Make the Sentence


As with adverb clauses, you can use adjective clauses to link ideas, combine information, and create more effective sentences. In addition to adding description to sentences, adjective clauses allow you to create relationships between ideas. Here's an example:

Two sentences: “Rock Around the Clock” was released by Bill Haley and the Comets in 1955. “Rock Around the Clock” is often called the first big rock-and-roll hit.

One sentence: “Rock Around the Clock,” which is often called the first big rock-and-roll hit, was released by Bill Haley and the Comets in 1955.







Noun Clauses


Not to be left out of the fun, nouns also have their own clause. Just as you would expect, a noun clause is a dependent clause that functions as a noun. Because it functions as a noun, this clause can be a subject, direct object, indirect object, object of a preposition, predicate nominative, or appositive. For instance:


No one understands why experience is something you don't get until just after you need it.
The noun clause “why experience is something you don't get until just after you need it” functions as a direct object.


Where the candy bar is hidden remains a mystery.
The noun clause “where the candy bar is hidden” functions as the subject of the sentence.


The instructor gave whoever got their papers in early extra credit.
The noun clause “whoever got their papers in early” functions as an indirect object.


Connect the Dots

Clauses can also be used to express comparisons. When such clauses imply some of the words rather than state them outright, you have created an elliptical clause. The name “elliptical” comes from the word ellipsis, which means “omission.” For example:


The other members of the demonstration were as angry as I.
Insert the missing word was after “I.”


The social climber feared the judgment of the decorator more than the cost of the project.
Insert the missing subject and verb “he (or she) feared” after the word than.


Elliptical clauses come in different flavors: adverb, adjective, and noun. Here's how you can recognize them.


Type of Clause ------------------ What's Omitted

Adverb clause --------------------- Subject, verb, or either one
Adjective clause -------------------The words that, which, whom
Noun clause -------------------Subject, verb, or the second half of the comparison



The mark of punctuation called an ellipsis is three spaced dots (…). It's used to show that something has been intentionally omitted from a sentence. Elliptical clauses don't use the three spaced dots of the ellipsis; instead, the elliptical clause just swipes the name of the ellipsis and adopts its function in the way it structures a sentence by omitting certain words.

Elliptical clauses help create concise writing and speech. In these days when many people have a lot to say but say little, we want to support the use of the elliptical clause as much as possible.
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