PHRASES AND CLAUSES

PHRASES & CLAUSES DEFINITION & KINDS STUDY MATERIAL URBEE DUTTA M.A., B.ED ENGLISH GRAMMAR, C.B.S.E, STDS – VII & VIII 2021 FILIX SCHOOL OF EDUCATION

PHRASES AND CLAUSES SYNTAX OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE S= SUBJECT Eg; Shumaila is singing a song. V=VERB (SUBJECT) (PREDICATE) O=OBJECT PHRASE: DEFINITION A PHRASE is that part of a sentence which NEITHER CONSISTS OF A SUBJECT NOR A VERB NOR AN OBJECT NOR A PREDICATE. Therefore a PHRASE DOES NOT MAKE COMPLETE SENSE. Eg; [The man was carrying a bag] [full of money] (ADJECTIVE PHRASE) 1

❖ NOUN PHRASE Eg; Swimming at night in winter months is my hobby. ➢ The CLUSTER OF ITALICIZED WORDS answers the question ‘WHAT IS MY HOBBY’. ➢ It is the SUBJECT itself. ➢ It DOES NOT MAKE A CONCRETE MEANING. ➢ It ADHERES TO ALL THE FEATURES OF A PHRASE. ❖ ADJECTIVE PHRASE Eg; The books on the shelves are for sale. ➢ The CLUSTER OF ITALICIZED WORDS answers the question ‘WHICH BOOKS’. 2

➢ DOES NOT CONSIST OF a SUBJECT or a PREDICATE. ➢ It DOES NOT HAVE ANY CONCRETE MEANING. ➢ It ADHERES TO ALL THE FEATURES OF A PHRASE. ❖ ADVERB PHRASE Eg; Tarun followed the doctor’s advice with utmost care. ➢ The CLUSTER OF ITALICIZED WORDS answers the question ‘HOW’ or ‘WITH WHAT’ ➢ Therefore ‘utmost care’ is the OBJECT OF PREPOSITION ‘with’. ➢ It DOES NOT CONSIST OF EITHER A SUBJECT OR A PREDICATE. ➢ It DOES NOT CONVEY A CONCRETE MEANING. ➢ It ADHERES TO ALL THE FEATURES OF A PHRASE. ➢ It is also a PREPOSITIONAL PHRASE [PREPOSITION ‘with’ + ADJECTIVE ‘utmost’ + NOUN ‘care’] OBJECT OF PREPOSITION VERB PHRASE & PHRASAL VERB A VERB PHRASE is A GROUP OF WORDS THAT CONTAINS A VERB. EXAMPLE: ‘Went to the store.’ A PHRASAL VERB is A VERB USUALLY WITH A PREPOSITION THAT CHANGES DRAMATICALLY THE MEANING OF THE VERB. ❖ PHRASAL VERB 1. Fill in the blanks with the correct form of the Phrasal Verbs below:- ‘bring up’, ‘break down’, ‘blow up’, ‘break into’, ‘go back’, ‘go on’, ‘break up’ a. The bomb _blew up_____ before the police arrived. b. Helen _was brought up____ in Germany by her grandparents. c. My uncle’s car _broke down____ when he was crossing the desert. d. The burglars _broke into____the house at midnight. e. Richie and Jane _broke up_____ again. f. “Please _go on___, don’t stop talking.”, said Richie. g. “When are you _going back____ to your house?” , asked Jane. ➢ The CLUSTER OF ITALICIZED WORDS talk about an ACTION. ➢ It is NOT THE SUBJECT ITSELF. ➢ It DOES NOT MAKE A CONCRETE MEANING. ➢ It CHANGES ACCORDING TO the PERSON,NUMBER AND TENSE. ➢ It ADHERES TO ALL THE FEATURES OF A PHRASE. 3

PHRASE MEANING having dark marks on one’s skin as a result of being hit The mother was astonished to see her son in black and blue. with absolute accuracy informal and relaxed of all sizes or types without resources or help everywhere very proud invalid not exact, only approximate brief but pleasant or relevant EXERCISE Q1) IDENTIFY THE KINDS OF THE ITALICISED PHRASES :- 1. I like to swing the bat hard when I am at the crease. ➢ ‘to swing the bat’- NOUN PHRASE ➢ Answering the question ‘WHAT DO I LIKE WHEN I AM AT THE CREASE’. 2. Alex is a well-behaved man. ➢ ‘well-behaved ’- ADJECTIVE ➢ Answering the question ‘WHAT KIND OF’ or ‘HOW’? 3. The horse runs at a good speed. ➢ ‘at a good speed’ – ADVERB PHRASE ➢ Answering the question ‘HOW’? 4. Reading novels is a good habit. ➢ ‘reading novels’ – NOUN PHRASE ➢ Answering the question ‘WHAT’? 5. He is a man of friendly nature. ➢ ‘friendly nature’ – ADJECTIVE PHRASE ➢ Answering the question ‘OF WHAT’? 6. I was in a hurry then. ➢ ‘in a hurry then’ – ADVERB PHRASE ➢ Answering the question ‘IN WHAT STATE WAS (BE) I’? 4

7. The probability of happening that match is not much. ➢ ‘the probability of happening that match’ –NOUN PHRASE ➢ Answering the question ‘WHAT’? 8. Julie is a woman of gorgeous style. ➢ ‘of gorgeous style’ – ADJECTIVE PHRASE ➢ Answering the question ‘OF WHAT’? 9. I ran as fast as possible. ➢ ‘as fast as possible’ – ADVERB PHRASE ➢ Answering the question ‘HOW’? 10. We are sorry for her departure. ➢ ‘her departure’ – NOUN PHRASE ➢ Answering the question ‘WHAT’? 11. She leads a very interesting life. ➢ ‘a very interesting life’ – NOUN PHRASE ➢ Answering the question ‘WHAT’? 12. He works very slowly. ➢ ‘very slowly’ – ADVERB PHRASE ➢ Answering the question ‘HOW’? 13. A lot of people do not sleep at night. ➢ a lot of people - NOUN PHRASE ➢ Answering the question ‘WHO’? Q2. Use the following Phrases to make sentences :- a) in a river- I saw a boat sailing in a river. ➢ ADVERB PHRASE OF PLACE and also a PREPOSITIONAL PHRASE. ➢ It is answering the question WHERE. b) at sunset - The sky looks very pretty at sunset . ➢ ADVERB PHRASE OF TIME ➢ It is answering the question WHEN. c) at night- I am in a habit of gazing at the glittery stars at night. ➢ ADVERB OF TIME ➢ Answering the question WHEN. d) in the morning- The sunlight in the morning breaks my dreamy sleep. ➢ ADVERB OF TIME ➢ Answering the question WHEN. CLAUSE: DEFINITION That part of a sentence WHICH CONSISTS OF BOTH A SUBJECT AND A PREDICATE thus MAKING A COMPLETE SENSE (PRINCIPAL/MAIN/INDEPENDENT CLAUSE/COORDINATE CLAUSE) Eg; The man was carrying a bag. RELATIVE PRONOUN The bag was full of money. RELATIVE PRONOUN A PRONOUN THAT RELATES A NOUN TO A GROUP OF WORDS THAT FOLLOWS. The man was carrying a bag which was full of money. Eg; This is a vase. I bought it from the fair. (PRINCIPLE CLAUSE) (SUBORDINATE CLAUSE/ This is a vase which I bought from the fair. DEPENDENT CLAUSE ADJECTIVE CLAUSE) 5

❖ NOUN CLAUSE (INDEPENDENT/PRINCIPAL/MAIN/SUBORDINATE) Eg; What the captain had decided was accepted by all the players. ➢ The CLUSTER OF ITALICIZED WORDS answers the question ‘WHAT WAS ACCEPTED BY ALL THE PLAYERS?’. ➢ It is actually a DECISION. ➢ REPHRASE: The captain had decided what. (SUBJECT) (VERB) (OBJECT) Eg; All the players accepted what the captain had decided. ➢ The CLUSTER OF ITALICIZED WORDS answers the question ‘WHAT DID ALL THE PLAYERS ACCEPT?’ ➢ It is actually a DECISION. ➢ REPHRASE: All the players accepted what? (SUBJECT) (VERB) (OBJECT) ❖ ADJECTIVE CLAUSE (DEPENDENT CLAUSE) Eg; The boy, who had saved the child from the fire, was rewarded for his bravery. ➢ The CLUSTER OF ITALICIZED WORDS answers the question ‘WHICH BOY’. ➢ It thus DESCRIBES THE NOUN ‘BOY’. ➢ It ADHERES TO ALL THE FEATURES OF A CLAUSE. ❖ ADVERBIAL CLAUSE/ ADVERB CLAUSE (DEPENDENT CLAUSE) Eg; We reached the theater just when the play had started. ➢ The CLUSTER OF ITALICIZED WORDS answers the question ‘WHEN’. 6

➢ It thus describes the verb ‘reached’. ➢ It ADHERES TO ALL THE FEATURES OF A CLAUSE. ➢ It is an ADVERBIAL CLAUSE OF TIME. 1. Expand the following sentences with the help of SUBORDINATE CLAUSES:- 1. The band played a popular tune which the audience enjoyed. ➢ ‘played ‘is a FINITE VERB. ➢ A SENTENCE ENDING WITH a FINITE VERB is ALWAYS COMPLETE IN ITSELF. ➢ Therefore a SENTENCE WHICH ENDS WITH a FINITE VERB could also STAND ALONE as a PRINCIPAL/INDEPENDENT/MAIN CLAUSE. ➢ ‘a popular tune’ is a NOUN PHRASE as it is answering the question WHAT. ➢ ‘which the audience enjoyed’ is a SUBORDINATE CLAUSE. SUBJECT PREDICATE FINITE VERB ➢ t MAIN VERB in a sentence, ➢ Its TENSE is subject to change. 7

SUBORDINATING CONJUNCTIONS COORDINATING CONJUNCTIONS 8

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