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PHRASES AND CLAUSES
Phrase

A group of words.

Prepositional Phrase

A group of words introduced by a preposition.

Example: "of the people, by the people, and for the people."

Participial Phrase

A group of words introduced by a participle, a verb form used as an adjective.

Example: "The player shooting the three-pointer was fouled." Which player? The player shooting the three-pointer. "Shooting" is a verb ("I am shooting the three-pointer") used as an adjective (which player?) in this sentence.

Clause

A group of words including a subject and a verb.

Independent Clause

A clause that states a complete thought is an independent clause.

Compound Sentence

A sentence formed by joining two independent clauses either with a comma and a conjunction or with a semicolon.

Examples:

He ran all the time, but recently he broke his leg. He ran all the time; he recently broke his leg.

Dependent Clause

A clause that does not state a complete thought.

Adjective Clause

A dependent clause that serves as an adjective, usually modifying a noun.

Example:

The player who shot the three-pointer was fouled. Which player? The player who shot the three-pointer.

Adverbial Clause

A dependent clause that serves as an adverb, answering a question (when, where, why, how) about the verb.

Example:

Because the students did not fare well on the grammar quiz, Mr. Beall decided to give a re-quiz on Monday.

When the students studied for the quiz, they showed that they learned grammar well.

Complex Sentence

A sentence formed by joining one or more dependent clauses to an independent clause.

HOMEWORK DRILL
Identify the group of words in bold type as one of the following: _ _ _
Prep Prepositional phrase
Part Participial phrase
AdvC Adverbial clause
AdjC Adjectival clause
_____ Due to the IRS, I became poor.
_____ Obsessed with Mimi's mou-mou, Jack intently writes.
_____ Afflicted with sleep-deprivation and caffeine overdose, he paces.
_____ Running down the street, I tripped.
_____ When I said "hi," he smiled.
____ With stealth, he approached the guard and attacked him.
_____ Because he was quick, the guard stopped the thief.
_____ The guard stopped the thief who attacked him.
____ I am running now because I am out of shape.
_____ The man who was quick fought with the other man.
____ Barbarically killing off people, Nero then was reborn as someone else.
_____ Screaming loudly, he lunged at Mimi.
_____ With a boom, the fire burned her mumu to shreds.
_____ When you did that, you knew what was coming.
_____ After the man had jogged, he showered.
_____ With great difficulty, Tubbo waddled to the store.
_____ With a hard blow to the nose, Popeye punched Bruto.
_____ Popeye, who has been accused of adultery, will go on trial.
_____ As he was walking, a safe fell on him.