Phrases
Common Core standard L.7.1.a
Noun Phrase
What it is: A noun and all its modifiers. These are words that describe, explain, or clarify the noun.
Example: This student decided to start her homework early.
How to find it: First, find all nouns. In the example, the nouns are student and homework. Next, look for any words that are physically close to the noun and also connected to it in some way. In the example, “this” tells which student it was. (Pretend there’s an arrow pointing to one student.) Similarly, “her” tells whose homework the student started.
Why it matters: Making longer noun phrases in your writing adds more description and detail for your reader.
Original: This student decided to start her homework early.
Revision: This straight-A honor roll student, who was desperately trying to get into a good college, decided to start her difficult AP homework early.
Try it! Add words to each noun phrase to make the sentence more descriptive.
Original: My dog slobbered on my boyfriend’s foot.
Original: The dancer fell clumsily on the floor.
Original: Many gamers recommend this video game.
Verb Phrase
What it is: Unlike a noun phrase, a verb phrase is only the verb and any helping/auxiliary/modal auxiliary verbs that go with it. Modifiers like adverbs do not count towards the verb phrase.
Example: Jimothy had eaten lunch.
How to find it: All complete sentences have a verb; some have more than one. Finding the verb phrase is easiest if you find the subject first, then determine what the subject is or does. Make sure to also look for additional words that may go with the verb (had, could, might, will, etc.). These are the helping/auxiliary/modal auxiliary verbs.
Why it matters: This is most important when determining if a sentence is complete. If there is no verb, it does not qualify as a sentence.
Try it! Find the verb phrase.
Stuart danced in the moonlight.
This is the best movie ever!
No one has eaten your churro.
The lattice is swaying in the breeze.
Storms can be scary to some people.
Answers:
Danced
Is
Has eaten
Is swaying
Can be
Adjective Phrase
See prepositional phrase
Adverb Phrase
See prepositional phrase
Prepositional Phrase
What it is: A prepositional phrase starts with a preposition and ends with the object of a preposition. Everything between and including those words is the prepositional phrase.
Example: Stuart ran into the house. Jimothy wants a cat with long white fur.
How to find it: Start by finding the preposition. Prepositions are words that show location, direction, time, duration, etc. Once you have found the preposition, continue reading the sentence until you reach a noun or pronoun. The preposition, its object, and everything in between is the prepositional phrase.
I do not recommend searching for a list of prepositions and memorizing them. First of all, there are a lot of prepositions – far too many to memorize. Secondly, some words serve multiple functions depending on how they’re used in the sentence. In the case of prepositions, some are also adverbs. Therefore, it’s better to cultivate an evolving sentence sense that lets you identify prepositional phrases almost intuitively rather than comparing words to a list.
BE CAREFUL: Some prepositions are also adverbs. The key is that all prepositions will have an object – a noun or a pronoun – that ends the prepositional phrase. If there’s no object, the word is an adverb.
The helicopter rose up. (adverb)
The cat ran up the stairs. (preposition; object is underlined)
Why it matters: Prepositional phrases supersize your sentence. A simple sentence (The dog ran) can be improved by adding prepositional phrases modifying the dog or where it ran (The dog with the floppy ears ran across the street).
A further note on prepositional phrases: Prepositional phrases come in two flavors depending on what they modify. Adjective phrases (adjectival phrases, adjectival prepositional phrases) modify nouns. Adverb phrases (adverbal phrases, adverbial prepositional phrases) modify verbs. Adjective phrases and adverb phrases do not exist on their own. Instead, they merely describe the two types of prepositional phrases. In general a prepositional phrase will modify the word that comes just before it.
Try it! Find the prepositional phrase:
The hat is on the hook.
That shirt with the white sparkles looks pretty.
Students ran through the hallway after class. (be careful!)
Throughout the party, everyone was dancing.
The plant under the awning needs more water.
Answers:
On the hook
With the white sparkles
Through the hallway AND after class
Throughout the party
Under the awning
Try it! For each identified prepositional phrase, does it modify a verb (adverb phrase) or a noun (adjective phrase)?
I left my book report on the counter.
The bag in the hallway is mine.
Correct your answers with a red pen.
The fish swam between the jagged rocks.
I can’t find my green jacket with pockets.
Answers:
Adverb phrase
Adjective phrase
Adverb phrase
Adverb phrase
Adjective phrase