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Sentence Grammar |
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Phrases and Clauses |
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Phrases are groups of related words that have no subject-verb pair. The following word groups are examples of phrases:
running to school this morning at the back of the restaurant burned by the strength of the sun
A phrase is used in a sentence as a noun, adjective, or adverb.
A prepositional phrase consists of a preposition A preposition expresses a relationship between a noun or pronoun and other words in a sentence. The following words are examples of prepositions: about, after, as, at, between, by, during, for, in, like, of, on, over, since, up, under, with
and its object. Most prepositional phrases are used as adjectives or adverbs. For example:
The roses in the vase were a gift from my husband.
In this sentence, the prepositional phrase functions as an adjective modifying the noun roses.
In the next example, the prepositional phrase functions as an adverb modifying the verb wait:
Please wait for me by the door.
A gerund phrase consists of a gerund A gerund is a verb form ending in -ing that is used as a noun. Both gerunds and present participles are the -ing forms of verbs, but only gerunds are nouns. The following words are examples of gerunds: sleeping, running, dreaming, buying
and any modifiers or objects of the gerund. Gerund phrases are used as nouns. Gerund phrases always begin with a word ending in –ing.
Traveling alone has its advantages. My tour of the Channel Islands included taking a diving lesson.
An infinitive phrase consists of an infinitive An infinitive is a verb form that is identified by the word to preceding the base form of the verb. The following word groups are examples of infinitives: to run, to seek, to find
and any modifiers or objects of the infinitive. Infinitive phrases may be used as nouns, adjectives, or adverbs. Infinitive phrases always begin with the word to.
The instructor demonstrated the correct way to breathe.
To swim around the rugged, stony reefs was a wonderful adventure.
Phrases can never be sentences.
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Which of the following sentences contains a gerund phrase? |
| No. This sentence does not contain a gerund phrase. It does contain an infinitive phrase that begins with the infinitive to reunite . Perhaps you were confused by the word planning which is part of the verb are planning. |
| Yes. This sentence contains a gerund phrase that begins with the gerund packing and is used as the object of the preposition for. |
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