1. The basics of sentences
Think about the job that a word is doing in the sentence.
Phrases and clauses
2. Phrases
A phrase is a group of words that acts as one unit.
They are built around one main word.
Phrases are NOT sentences.
Noun phrases are built around a noun.
Noun = Dog
Noun Phrase = That dog
That hungry dog
That hungry dog on the pavement
All of these are about one thing – the noun (dog).
3. Phrases
A phrase is a group of words that acts as one unit.
They are built around one main word.
Noun phrases are built around a noun:
That sour-faced, wizened old man
Spot the adverbial phrase, prepositional phrase, the verb
phrase, the adjectival phrase
The cave was underneath the mountain.
He was moving very slowly.
The cat was very beautiful.
I am running quickly.
4. Prepositional Phrases
• Common prepositions include:
above against behind below beside between in inside into near
off on onto into outside over through under up + towards
before after during
• Prepositional phrases have a preposition followed by a noun or a
noun phrase:
• underneath the table
• on top of the table
• beside the table
5. Clauses
A clause is a group of words built around a verb.
They contain a subject and a verb.
Clauses can be complete sentences.
In a clause, something happens.
You can have multi-clause sentences.
Look for the verbs!
The dog ate the bone.
The dog ate the bone before jumping onto the sofa.
The dog ate the bone, jumped onto the sofa and snoozed.
6. Clauses
A clause is a group of words built around a verb.
Clauses can be complete sentences.
Be careful:
The old dog from next door sat on the table in the kitchen
by the sink.
7. Auxiliary Verbs
Auxiliary verbs are the little helpers that go with verbs:
He is running.
I was running.
I do jump high.
She has eaten.
Does he jump?
• Auxiliary verbs are not the main verb – they are little helpers.
8. Modal Verbs
Modal verbs are type of auxiliary verb.
They express possibility:
We can go swimming.
We must go swimming.
We might go swimming.
We may go swimming.
• Common modal verbs: can, could, may, might, will, would,
shall, should, must, ought to
9. Revisiting Determiners
• Common determiners:
This that those these some many any no either neither each every
many much few little both all ten twenty which what whose
• The most common determiners are:
• The a or an
• An is used before a vowel sound, e.g. a cat an apple
