Transcript Appositives & Appositive Phrases

Types of Phrases
“To be or not to be,
that is the question.”
Hamlet, by William Shakespeare
What is a phrase?

A phrase is a group of related words
that acts as a single part of speech.

By using phrases effectively and placing
them properly, you can make your writing
clearer and more descriptive.

“To be or not to be” is an example of
just one of many types of phrases.
Types of Phrases
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Verb Phrases
Prepositional Phrases
Appositive Phrases
Participial Phrases
Gerund Phrases
Infinitive Phrases
Verb Phrases
Verb Phrases are formed when verbs
are joined by auxiliary verbs, also
called helping verbs.
 A verb phrase may be used to express a
particular tense of a verb or to indicate
that an action is directed at the subject.

Romeo and Juliet might never have met if not for the
party at Juliet’s house.
Both Romeo and Juliet’s actions are driven by their
passion for each other.
Prepositional Phrases

A prepositional phrase
consists of a preposition,
its objects, and any
modifiers of the object.
There are many kinds
of love.
Romeo and Juliet take
their love to the extreme.
Adjective and Adverb Phrases

An adjective prepositional phrase modifies
a noun or a pronoun.
There are many kinds of love.

Like an adverb, an adverb prepositional
phrase modifies a verb, an adjective, or
another adverb.
Romeo and Juliet take their love to the extreme.
Let’s Practice …
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4.
The students are
studying the play in
their English class.
Some are confused by
Shakespeare’s use of
older-style English.
The teacher should have
given them some more
guidance on reading his
poetry.
Many had heard before
of the tragic tale.
Let’s Practice …
1.
2.
3.
4.
The students are
studying the play in
their English class.
Some are confused by
Shakespeare’s use of
older-style English.
The teacher should have
given them some more
guidance on reading his
poetry.
Many had heard before
of the tragic tale.
Why It Matters In Writing

Inexperienced writers sometimes confuse readers by
putting prepositional phrases in the wrong places in
their sentences. Think about how the placement of
the prepositional phrase affects the meaning of the
following sentences:
Brockton Kennels sells retriever puppies to
loving families with vaccinations.
Golden retrievers are valued for their eagerness
to work by hunters.
Fix These Problem Sentences
1.
2.
3.
4.
Sporting dogs and hounds
are the types of dogs for
hunting with the most talent.
The stamina of a Chesapeake
Bay retriever allows it to
swim when retrieving ducks
for a long time.
With its water-resistant fur, a
hunter is glad to have a
Labrador retriever to swim
out and bring back ducks.
A pointer holds up a front leg
at the scent of a quail with
the paw pointed down.
5.
6.
Irish water spaniels are
funny-looking dogs with tufts
over their faces of curly hair.
With their noses to the
ground, rabbits leave a scent
that basset hounds are good
at tracking.
Fix These Problem Sentences
1.
2.
3.
4.
Sporting dogs and hounds
are the types of dogs with
the most talent for hunting.
The stamina of a Chesapeake
Bay retriever allows it to
swim for a long time when
retrieving ducks.
A hunter is glad to have a
Labrador retriever with its
water-resistant fur to swim
out and bring back ducks.
A pointer holds up a front leg
with the paw pointed down
at the scent of a quail.
5.
6.
Irish water spaniels are
funny-looking dogs with tufts
of curly hair over their faces.
Rabbits leave a scent that
basset hounds, with their
noses to the ground, are
good at tracking.
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.
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.
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.
Let’s Practice …
- circle the appositive; underline the app. phrase
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6.
Wilma Rudolph, another champion sprinter,
also overcame a disability.
Rudolph was born with the disease polio.
Rudolph, a determined child, ignored doctors’
predictions about never being able to walk
again.
A basketball star at age 13, she was known for
her speed.
The coach Edward Temple invited her to a track
camp.
In 1956, Rudolph, only a 16-year-old, made the
U.S. Olympic team.
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8.
She and three other women, members of the
women’s 400-meter relay team, won a bronze
medal.
Four years later, Rudolph achieved her greatest
personal triumph, three gold medals in a single
Olympics.
How Did You Do?
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Wilma Rudolph, another champion sprinter,
also overcame a disability.
Rudolph was born with the disease polio.
Rudolph, a determined child, ignored doctors’
predictions about never being able to walk
again.
A basketball star at age 13, she was known for
her speed.
The coach Edward Temple invited her to a track
camp.
In 1956, Rudolph, only a 16-year-old, made the
U.S. Olympic team.
7.
8.
She and three other women, members of the
women’s 400-meter relay team, won a bronze
medal.
Four years later, Rudolph achieved her greatest
personal triumph, three gold medals in a single
Olympics.
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)
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.
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.”
Let’s Practice …
- underline the participial phrase
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2.
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4.
In many parts of the country, steadily
declining interest has damaged high
school football.
Preferring soccer or basketball, many
students do not sign up for football.
Parents concerned about football
injuries suggest other sports.
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.
How Did You Do?
1.
2.
3.
4.
In many parts of the country, steadily
declining interest has damaged high
school football.
Preferring soccer or basketball, many
students do not sign up for football.
Parents concerned about football
injuries suggest other sports.
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.
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.
Make the Needed Corrections
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
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.
How Did You Fix These?
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
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.
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”
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.
Let’s Practice …
- underline the gerund phrase
3.
4.
Morales learned quickly, and soon he
started winning junior championships.
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.
5.
Morales surprised everyone by failing to
qualify in 1988.
2.
One of the goals of Morales’ mother was
having her children learn to swim at an
early age.
6.
He touched people’s hearts by making a
comeback and winning a gold medal in the
100-meter butterfly in the 1992 Olympics.
How Did You Do?
3.
4.
Morales learned quickly, and soon he
started winning junior championships.
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.
5.
Morales surprised everyone by failing to
qualify in 1988.
2.
One of the goals of Morales’ mother was
having her children learn to swim at an
early age.
6.
He touched people’s hearts by making a
comeback and winning a gold medal in the
100-meter butterfly in the 1992 Olympics.
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.
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.
Let’s Practice …
- underline the infinitive phrase
1.
2.
3.
4.
Woods is determined to help other persons
of color become golf stars.
To turn his dreams into reality, he founded
a charitable organization, the Tiger Woods
Foundation in 1997.
Tiger Woods was the first person of AfricanAmerican descent to win a major
tournament in men’s professional golf.
To overcome golf’s history of
discrimination was no easy task.
How Did You Do?
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2.
3.
4.
Woods is determined to help other persons
of color become golf stars.
To turn his dreams into reality, he founded
a charitable organization, the Tiger Woods
Foundation, in 1997.
Tiger Woods was the first person of AfricanAmerican descent to win a major
tournament in men’s professional golf.
To overcome golf’s history of
discrimination was no easy task.
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.
Try Combining These …
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2.
3.
4.
Golfers use many different types of clubs during a tournament.
Different clubs are needed to hit good shots.
Hale Irwin has displayed incredible skill. He has won the U.S. Open
three times.
Hale Irwin must have amazing physical endurance. He has won
tournaments for 30 years.
He had weeks of outstanding play on the Senior Tour. He earned
nearly $3 million in one year.
How Did You Do?
1.
2.
3.
4.
Golfers use many different types of clubs to hit good shots during a
tournament.
Hale Irwin has displayed incredible skill to win the U.S. Open three
times.
Hale Irwin must have amazing physical endurance to win
tournaments for 30 years.
He had weeks of outstanding play on the Senior Tour to earn nearly
$3 million in one year.
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.
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.
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.