Grammar in Context
Grammar in Context
Week 5 (7/3/22-11/3/22)
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Grammar for Reports: Phrases and Clauses
Types of Phrases:
•Noun Phrase
•Adjective Phrase
•Adverb/Adverbial Phrase
•Prepositional Phrase
Noun Phrase - Definition
What is a Noun Phrase?
A noun phrase is a group of two or more words headed by a noun that
includes modifiers (e.g., 'the,' 'a,' 'of them,' 'with her’).
Noun Phrase - Definition
Here is a list of noun phrases. In this list, every noun phrase consists of a head
noun (in black) and at least one modifier.
• People: the soldier, my cousin, dopey Alan, the lawyer with the big nose
• Animals: that aardvark, one rat, a shark, funny Mickey
• Places: the house in the corner, inner London, dirty factory, no shelter
• Things: this table, our London Bridge, the sharp chisel, that nitrogen, last month,
an inch, her cooking
• Ideas: utter confusion, some kindness, your faith, the Theory of Relativity, a joy
So, a noun with any sort of modifier (even it's just "a" or "the") is a noun phrase.
Functions of Noun Phrase
❑ A phrase has at least two words and functions as one part of speech.
• I don't have a bank account, because I don't know my mother's maiden name.
(In this example, both noun phrases are direct objects.)
• The best car safety device is a rear-view mirror with a cop in it.
(In this example, the first noun phrase is the subject, and the second is a subject
complement.)
More Examples of Noun Phrase
https://youtu.be/edU_QGQwRsw
1. The Spitfire's 9-yard belt of bullets give us the term "the full nine yards.“
(The head noun in this noun phrase is "belt." All the other words in the noun
phrase
are modifiers. As "belt" is singular, the verb "give" is wrong. It should be
"gives.")
2. The Spitfire's 9-yard belt of bullets gives us the term "the full nine yards."
Do not be tricked into agreeing the verb with the nearest noun (here, "bullets").
When a noun phrase is the subject of a verb, the head noun governs the verb.
Adjective Phrase - Definition
What Is an Adjective Phrase?
• An adjective phrase is a group of words headed by an adjective that describes
a noun or a pronoun.
Adjective Phrase - Examples
Examples of Adjective Phrases
Here are some examples to help explain the difference between single-word adjectives,
adjective phrases, adjectival phrases, and adjective clauses (In each adjective phrase,
the head adjective is shown in black. Also, in each adjective clause, the subject is blue, and
the verb is green.)
Example 1
• We are expecting sunny days. (single word adjective)
• We are expecting some extremely sunny days. (adjective phrase)
• We are expecting days with lots of sunshine. (adjectival phrase)
• We are expecting days that will melt the tarmac. (adjective clause)
Example 2
• Bright stars illuminated the field. (single word adjective)
• Beautifully clear stars full of wonder illuminated the field. (adjective phrase)
• Stars with the intensity of car headlamps illuminated the field.(adjectival phrase)
• Stars that shone like car headlamps illuminated the field. (adjective clause)
Examples of Adjectives Phrases
Attributive Adjective
An attributive adjective typically sits before the noun it is modifying.
• The beautifully carved frames are priceless.
(The adjective phrase is before the noun it modifies ("frames"). This is an
attributive adjective phrase.)
Predicative Adjective
A predicative adjective typically sits after the noun it is modifying.
• The frames are beautifully carved and priceless.
(The adjective phrase is after the noun it modifies ("The frames"). This is a
predicative adjective phrase.)
More about Adjective Phrases
When an adjective phrase (or any adjective for that matter) appears before its noun,
it is highly likely to be an attributive adjective. However, an adjective that appears
after its noun can also be attributive.
• The frames beautifully carved by monks are priceless.
(The adjective phrase is after the noun it modifies ("The frames"), but this time it's
an attributive adjective.)
Even though most attributive adjectives sit before their nouns, the position of an
adjective does not determine whether it is attributive or predicative. An attributive
adjective sits inside the noun phrase of the noun it modifies, and a predicative
adjective sits outside the noun phrase of the noun it modifies. Typically, a
predicative adjective is linked to its noun with a linking verb (e.g., "to be," "to look,"
"to smell," "to taste").T
• The dog covered in mud looks pleased with himself.
(In this example, the first adjective phrase – even though it's positioned after its
noun ("The dog") – is attributive because it appears inside the noun phrase "The
dog covered in mud." The second is predicative because it appears outside the
noun phrase of the noun it modifies. Note how it is linked to its noun with a linking
verb ("looks").)
Common Mistakes When Using Adjectives Phrase
When an adverb ending "-ly" (and lots do) is modifying an adjective, don't
use a hyphen to join it to the adjective. The hyphen is unjustified (in the
interest of writing efficiency). However, if your adverb is one like "well,"
"fast," "best," or "better" (i.e., one that could feasibly be mistaken as an
adjective), then use a hyphen to eliminate any ambiguity.
• She has beautifully-formed feet.
(The hyphen is unjustified when the adverb ends "-ly.")
• She has well-formed feet.
(The hyphen is justified to make it clear you mean the adverb "well," i.e.,
healthily, and not the adjective "well," i.e., healthy.)
Task 2
https://youtu.be/69IN9KS79uw
Here are some examples to help explain the difference between adverbial
phrases, adverbial clauses , and single-word adverbs. (In these examples,
the subjects are blue, and the verbs are green. Note that none of the
phrases has a subject or a verb.)
• Show Simon your project in the morning. (adverbial phrase)
• Show Simon your project tomorrow. (adverb)
• Show Simon your project when he arrives. (adverbial clause)
Task 3
https://youtu.be/1an0ZjR0zek
In this example, the prepositional phrase is shaded, and the preposition is in bold:
• The witch sat on her broom.
("On" is a preposition, "broom" is the object of the preposition, and "her" is the
modifier.)
•
Definition of Prepositional Phrase
Examples of Prepositional Phrase
https://youtu.be/C6m5-SszI_8
It is a little bit more complicated than shown above because the noun
can be anything that plays the role of a noun. For example:
• It's a present from her.
(Remember that the "noun" can be a pronoun.)
• She stole it from the man across the street.
(Here, the noun is a noun phrase.)
• It's obvious from what he said.
(Here, the noun is a noun clause.)
More Examples of Prepositional Phrase
The noun that follows the preposition (i.e., everything that's shaded but not bolded in the examples) is
called the object of a preposition. There will often be modifiers in the object of the preposition making it
a noun phrase. For example:
• I sat with Simba.
(There are no modifiers in this example.)
• I sat with the wonderful Simba.
(With the modifiers "the" and "wonderful," the object of the preposition is now a noun phrase.)
Here is another example:
• He beat Lee without trying.
(There are no modifiers in this example. The object of the preposition is a noun. In this case, it’s
a gerund.)
• He beat Lee without overly trying.
(With the modifier "overly," the object of the preposition is a noun phrase.)
The Function of Prepositional Phrases
Be aware that the noun in your prepositional phrase can influence the verb when the
subject is an indefinite pronoun (i.e., a word like "all," "any," "more," "most," and
"some"), which can be singular or plural depending on context.
• Most of the cake has been eaten.
(The noun in the prepositional phrase ("cake") is singular. Therefore, "most" is treated
as singular.)
• Democracy is the recurrent suspicion that more than half of the people are right
more than half the time.
("Half" is plural because "people" is plural.)
• Half of the world knows not how the other half lives.
("Half" is singular because "world" is singular.)
• Ninety percent of the politicians give the other ten percent a bad reputation.
("Ninety percent" is plural because "politicians" is plural.)
• My guess is that well over eighty percent of the human race goes without having
a single original thought.
("Eighty percent" is singular because "human race" is singular.)
Common Mistakes with Prepositional Phrases
3. Avoid ambiguity when placing your prepositional phrase.
• One morning, I shot an elephant in my pyjamas. How he got into my pyjamas I'll never
know.
This well-cited joke by Groucho Marx plays on the fact that prepositional phrases can be
ambiguous. Groucho knew we'd assume "in my pyjamas" was an adverb modifying "shot."
His punchline, however, tells us that it was actually an adjective modifying "elephant."
Ambiguity with prepositional phrases can be a real issue. Look at this example:
• Joe fed the shark in the cage.
(Does the prepositional phrase tell us where Joe was when he fed the shark, or does it tell
us which shark Joe fed? In other words, is "in the cage" functioning as an adverb modifying
"fed" or an adjective modifying "shark? If you read it as an adverb (i.e., telling us where Joe
was), you might assume there was just one shark. If you read it as an adjective (i.e., "the
shark that was in the cage"), you would assume there were other sharks.)
Common Mistakes with Prepositional Phrases
You can usually eliminate ambiguity by rewording your sentence.
• Joe was in the cage when he fed the shark.
• Joe fed the shark that was in the cage.
Often, context means there is no genuine ambiguity.
• Never ruin an apology with an excuse.
(This is clearly telling you how not to ruin an apology as opposed to telling what type of
apology not to ruin (i.e., the prepositional phrase is functioning as an adverb not an
adjective.)
• Joe hit the burglar with a hammer.
(So, who had the hammer? Often, a standalone sentence will be ambiguous (as this
example is), but if the surrounding context eliminates the ambiguity, you will get away with
not rewording your sentence.)
Common Mistakes with Prepositional Phrases
The ambiguous examples so far have involved uncertainty over whether the prepositional
phrase is functioning as an adverb or an adjective. Be aware that ambiguity (often humorous
ambiguity) also occurs when it's unclear what a prepositional phrase is modifying.
• We will not sell paraffin to anyone in glass bottles.
(What? There are people who live in glass bottles?)
• Simon and his mother were reunited after 52 years in McDonald's.
(What? They spent 52 years in McDonald's?)
When you use a prepositional phrase, do a quick check to see whether it could potentially be
modifying something else in your sentence. Try to bear in mind that even though it's clear to
you what it's meant to be modifying, it might not be clear to your readers.
If your prepositional phrase is ambiguous, move it next to (usually immediately to the right of)
whatever it's meant to be modifying. That usually does the trick. If that makes your sentence
too unwieldy, reword your sentence.
Common Mistakes with Prepositional Phrases
Let's try that with the example "Joe hit the burglar with a hammer":
• Joe hit with a hammer the burglar.
(This is too unwieldy. We need to reword it. "Joe used a hammer to
hit the burglar" is an option.)
Tutorial 1 – Individual Work
• https://www.englishgrammar.org/noun-phrases-exercise/
• https://www.englishgrammar.org/adjective-phrases-worksheet/
• https://www.englishpractice.com/quiz/adverb-phrases-exercise/
• https://www.englishgrammar.org/prepositional-phrases-exercise/
Tutorial 2 – Group Work
Situation
The staff in your company have discussed and decided on two places
to visit for the year-end get-together. Write a report of about 350
words to the Manager of your company on the advantages and
disadvantages of visiting these two places. Use the 4 types of
phrases (noun, adjective, adverbial and prepositional) that you
have learned in the report. Identify and highlight the 4 different
types of phrases used.
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