Types of Phrases in English.

1. Appositives & Appositive
Phrases
• An appositive is a
noun or pronoun that
identifies or renames
another noun or
pronoun.
• An appositive phrase
is made up of an
appositive plus its
modifiers.
• Gail Devers, a champion
sprinter, was born in Seattle
in 1966.
• Barcelona, a large city in
Spain, hosted the Olympics
in 1992.

2. Essential Appositives
• An essential appositive is an
appositive that provides
information that is needed to
identify the preceding noun or
pronoun.
• It is sometimes called a
restrictive appositive.
The American sprinter
Gail Devers won an
Olympic gold medal in
the 100-meter dash in
1992.
• Note that NO COMMAS
are needed with an
essential appositive.

3. Nonessential Appositives
• A nonessential appositive
adds information about a
noun or pronoun in a
sentence in which the
meaning is already clear.
• It is also called a
nonrestrictive appositive.
• Nonessential appositives
are set off with commas.
Devers, a survivor of
Graves’ disease,
overcame many obstacles
to achieve athletic
success.

4. Let’s Practice …
- circle the appositive; underline the app. phrase
1. Wilma Rudolph, another
champion sprinter, also
overcame a disability.
2. Rudolph was born with the
disease polio.
3. Rudolph, a determined child,
ignored doctors’ predictions
about never being able to walk
again.
4. A basketball star at age 13, she
was known for her speed.
5. The coach Edward Temple
invited her to a track camp.
6. In 1956, Rudolph, only a 16-
year-old, made the U.S. Olympic
team.
7. She and three other women,
members of the women’s 400-
meter relay team, won a bronze
medal.
8. Four years later, Rudolph
achieved her greatest personal
triumph, three gold medals in a
single Olympics.

5. How Did You Do?
1. Wilma Rudolph, another
champion sprinter, also
overcame a disability.
2. Rudolph was born with the
disease polio.
3. Rudolph, a determined child,
ignored doctors’ predictions
about never being able to walk
again.
4. A basketball star at age 13, she
was known for her speed.
5. The coach Edward Temple
invited her to a track camp.
6. In 1956, Rudolph, only a 16-
year-old, made the U.S. Olympic
team.
7. She and three other women,
members of the women’s 400-
meter relay team, won a bronze
medal.
8. Four years later, Rudolph
achieved her greatest personal
triumph, three gold medals in a
single Olympics.

6. Verbals
• A verbal is a verb form that acts as a noun,
an adjective, or an adverb. They DO NOT
act as the verb/simple predicate in the
sentence.
• There are three types of verbals:
1. Participles (adjectives)
2. Gerunds (nouns)
3. Infinitives (nouns, adjectives, and
adverbs)

7. Participial Phrases
Played for more than 100
years, high school football
has a rich tradition.
Large crowds attend games
featuring rival high schools.
• A participle is a verb form
that acts as an adjective.
• There are two kinds: past
and present participles.
• A participial phrase
consists of a participle
plus its modifiers.

8. Some Literary Examples
From Robert Cormier’s The
Chocolate War:
“The coach looked like an old
gangster: broken nose, a scar on
his cheek, a stitched shoestring.”
“Inhaling the sweet sharp apple air
through his nostrils - he was afraid
to open his mouth wide, wary of
any movement that was not
absolutely essential –- he walked
tentatively toward the sidelines,
listening to the coach barking at
the other guys.”

9. Let’s Practice …
- underline the participial phrase
1. In many parts of the
country, steadily declining
interest has damaged high
school football.
2. Preferring soccer or
basketball, many students
do not sign up for football.
3. Parents concerned about
football injuries suggest
other sports.
4. Reacting to a lack of
interest, school officials
have cut football funds.
5. Remaining popular in
many urban areas,
however, high school
football won’t be dying
out anytime soon.

10. How Did You Do?
1. In many parts of the
country, steadily declining
interest has damaged high
school football.
2. Preferring soccer or
basketball, many students
do not sign up for football.
3. Parents concerned about
football injuries suggest
other sports.
4. Reacting to a lack of
interest, school officials
have cut football funds.
5. Remaining popular in
many urban areas,
however, high school
football won’t be dying
out anytime soon.

11. Why It Matters In Writing
• Many writers have trouble placing participial phrases in
sentences. Putting words in the wrong place can result in a
misplaced or dangling phrase that will confuse the reader.
This is often called a dangling participle.
• A misplaced participial phrase is closer to some other noun
than it is to the noun it actually modifies.
Beginning in the 1890’s, Thanksgiving Day was when top
high school football teams from different regions paired off
in major games.
Responding to changes in the rules of football, the forward
pass was used more often in high school games in the 1920’s.

12. Make the Needed Corrections
treatment. She was tackled by
large opposing players kicking
extra points. Katie was not ready
to give up the game after high
school. Determined to play
college football, Katie’s mother
gave her full support.
A high school in Colorado
had a homecoming queen who
played football. There was a
special ceremony at halftime of
the homecoming game. Queen
Katie smiled for the
photographers taking off her
helmet. Accepting a white rose,
the crowd loudly cheered. Katie
enjoyed the ceremony, but she
was prouder of her performance
on the field. With the game on
the line, a field goal sailed through
the goal posts kicked by Katie.
During her four years on the team,
Katie played well without receiving
any special

13. How Did You Fix These?
treatment. She was tackled by
large opposing players kicking
extra points. Katie was not ready
to give up the game after high
school. Determined to play
college football, Katie’s mother
gave her full support.
A high school in Colorado
had a homecoming queen who
played football. There was a
special ceremony at halftime of
the homecoming game. Queen
Katie smiled for the
photographers taking off her
helmet. Accepting a white rose,
the crowd loudly cheered. Katie
enjoyed the ceremony, but she
was prouder of her performance
on the field. With the game on
the line, a field goal sailed through
the goal posts kicked by Katie.
During her four years on the team,
Katie played well without receiving
any special

14. Gerund Phrases
• A gerund is a verb
form that ends in ing
and acts as a noun.
• A gerund phrase
consists of a gerund
plus its modifiers.
She loves swimming.
She loves swimming
in the ocean.
Next morning, when it was
time for the routine of
swimming and sunbathing, his
mother said, “Are you tired of
the usual beach, Jerry? Would
you like to go somewhere
else?”
- Doris Lessing, “Through the
Tunnel”

15. Functions of Gerund Phrases
Subject Swimming competitively
requires lots of practice.
Object of a Preposition Jeff got in shape by
swimming at the YMCA.
Direct Object Mr. Kroesche coaches high
school swimming.
Indirect Object Tamera gave competitive
swimming a try.
Predicate Nominative Tamera’s specialty is
swimming the backstroke.

16. Let’s Practice …
- underline the gerund phrase
3. Morales learned quickly,
and soon he started winning
junior championships.
4. Competing in the 1984
Olympics brought him one
gold medal and two silver
medals.
1. Pablo Morales became known
as the comeback kid of
Olympic swimming.
2. One of the goals of Morales’
mother was having her
children learn to swim at an
early age.
5. Morales surprised everyone
by failing to qualify in 1988.
6. He touched people’s hearts
by making a comeback and
winning a gold medal in the
100-meter butterfly in the
1992 Olympics.

17. How Did You Do?
3. Morales learned quickly,
and soon he started winning
junior championships.
4. Competing in the 1984
Olympics brought him one
gold medal and two silver
medals.
1. Pablo Morales became known
as the comeback kid of
Olympic swimming.
2. One of the goals of Morales’
mother was having her
children learn to swim at an
early age.
5. Morales surprised everyone
by failing to qualify in 1988.
6. He touched people’s hearts
by making a comeback and
winning a gold medal in the
100-meter butterfly in the
1992 Olympics.

18. Infinitive Phrases
• And we’re finally back to
Shakespeare, “To be or not
to be, that is the question.”
• An infinitive is a verb form,
usually beginning with the
word to, that can act as a
noun, an adjective, or an
adverb.
• An infinitive phrase consists
of an infinitive plus its
modifiers and complements.

19. Uses of Infinitive Phrases
Noun To win tournaments on the
Ladies Professional Golf
Association (LPGA) tour is the
goal of top women golfers.
Adjective In 1998, Se Ri Pak became the
youngest player to win the U.S.
Women’s Open golf
championship.
Adverb To become a champion golfer,
Pak spent many hours
practicing in her native land of
South Korea.

20. Let’s Practice …
- underline the infinitive phrase
1. Tiger Woods was the first
person of African-American
descent to win a major
tournament in men’s
professional golf.
2. To overcome golf’s history
of discrimination was no
easy task.
3. Woods is determined to help
other persons of color
become golf stars.
4. To turn his dreams into
reality, he founded a
charitable organization, the
Tiger Woods Foundation in
1997.

21. How Did You Do?
1. Tiger Woods was the first
person of African-American
descent to win a major
tournament in men’s
professional golf.
2. To overcome golf’s history of
discrimination was no easy
task.
3. Woods is determined to help
other persons of color
become golf stars.
4. To turn his dreams into
reality, he founded a
charitable organization, the
Tiger Woods Foundation, in
1997.

22. Why It Matters In Writing
• Using infinitive
phrases, you can
combine sentences in
a way that eliminates
unnecessary words
and sharpens the
relationship between
ideas.

23. Try Combining These …
1. Golfers use many different types of clubs
during a tournament. Different clubs are
needed to hit good shots.
2. Hale Irwin has displayed incredible skill. He has
won the U.S. Open three times.
3. Hale Irwin must have amazing physical
endurance. He has won tournaments for 30
years.
4. He had weeks of outstanding play on the
Senior Tour. He earned nearly $3 million in
one year.

24. How Did You Do?
1. Golfers use many different types of clubs to hit
good shots during a tournament.
2. Hale Irwin has displayed incredible skill to win
the U.S. Open three times.
3. Hale Irwin must have amazing physical
endurance to win tournaments for 30 years.
4. He had weeks of outstanding play on the
Senior Tour to earn nearly $3 million in one
year.

25. Be careful …
• It is easy to confuse
infinitives with prepositional
phrases, since both can
begin with to.
• Remember that an
infinitive is to + a verb;
a prepositional phrase is
to + an object (noun or
pronoun).
She wanted to eat some
delicious ice cream, so she
went to the grocery store.

26. Let’s Practice …
- underline prep. phrase; circle inf. phrase
1. The students were
excited to work on their
group project.
2. They walked to the
library so they could
complete their research.
3. While there, they were
able to divide up the
work evenly.
4. They later returned to
their homes to complete
the work.
5. They finally presented
their project to the class.

27. How Did You Do?
(prep. phrases are italicized)
1. The students were
excited to work on their
group project.
2. They walked to the
library so they could
complete their research.
3. While there, they were
able to divide up the
work evenly.
4. They later returned to
their homes to complete
the work.
5. They finally presented
their project to the class.