LESSON 6

PHRASES,
CLAUSES, AND
SENTENCES
 What is syntax?
1. The property of human language is
known as ‘syntax’.
2. Syntax refers to ‘sentence
construction’, how words grouped to form
phrases and sentences.
3. The syntax is a part of grammar, it
tends to study the syntax properties of a
language.
 Why do we study
syntax?
There are many reasons for studying syntax, from
general humanistic or behavioural motivations to
much more specific goals such as those in the
following:

1. To help us to illustrate the patterns of English

more effectively and clearly.
2. To enable us to analyse the structure sentences
systematically and explicitly.
 Phrase
Definitio
n
A phrase is a group of related words uses
as a single part of speech. A phrase lacks
a subject, a predicate or both.
Consequently, a phrase cannot be a
sentence. There is several types of
phrases
 Prepositional
Phrases
Definitio
n
A preposition is a word that connects a
noun and/or pronoun to other words in a
sentence. A preposition is usually one
word, but sometimes a group of words
can act as a preposition.
A prepositional phrase always
begins with a preposition and
ends with a noun or a pronoun,
which is called the object of the
preposition. Between the
preposition and the object, some
modifiers may appear
Examples:

prep. object
The meaning (of life) is a mystery

prep. object
I found my ring (among the old newspapers).
 Adjective
Phrases
Defin i ti o
n
Prepositional phrases can function as
adjectives. Just like one-word adjectives,
prepositional phrases can describe which
one and what kind about a noun or a
pronoun.
1. The snake in that cage is poisonous. (The
prepositional phrase in that cage tells which
snake.)

2. You should not submit a resume with a

typographical error. (The prepositional phrase
with a typographical error tells what kind of
resume.)
 Adverb
Phrases
Definitio
n
Prepositional phrases can also function as
adverb. Just like one-word adverbs,
prepositional phrases can modify verbs,
adjectives, and to what degree about the
words they modify.
Examples:

1. I put the report in the file. (The prepositional

phrase in the file tells where I put the report.)

2. She sold her car on Friday. (The prepositional

phrase on Friday tells when she sold her car.)
Examples:

3. The baker made this cake with a blender. (The

prepositional phrase with blender tells how the
baker made this cake.)

4. Daniel bought a book for his brother. (The

prepositional phrase for his brother tells why
Daniel bought a book.)
 Verb Phrases

Definitio
n
A verb phrase consists of a main
verb and its auxiliary (helping)
verbs.
Forms of to be: am, is, are, was, were, be,
being, been
Forms of to have: has, have, had
Forms of to do: do, does, did
Modals: can, could, may, might, must, shall,
should, will, would

A verb phrase may include one auxiliary verb

plus a main verb.
Example:

AV MV
1. He is singing a song.

It can also include several auxiliary verbs.

Examples:

AV AV AV MV
She should have been exercising daily.
 Appositive
Phrases
De fin i ti o
n
An appositive renames a noun or a
pronoun. It usually follows the noun and
identifies, explains, or adds to the meaning
of the noun. An appositive phrase consists
of the appositive and its modifiers.
 subject
appositive
Appositive with subject: Dr. Rockwell, my
dentist, has office hours on weekends.

Appositive with object of the preposition:

object of the preposition

appositive
I left the package with Mr. Foxworth, the
doorman.
Appositive with direct object:
DO appositive
I was playing Hearts, a card game.

Appositive with indirect object:

IO appositive
I gave Shelly, my girlfriend, a single rose.
Appositive with subject complement:
SC appositive
He is our leader, the man in charge.

Appositive with object complement:

OC appositive
We called her Sammy, a family nickname.
Quick Tip

The auxiliary verbs that show

necessity (must), ability (can,
could), permission or possibility
(may, might), promise,
determination, or intention (shall,
should, will, would) are called
modals. Modals are verbs that do
not have infinitive or participial
forms, but they are always part of a
verb phrase.
 Clauses
Defin i ti o
n
A clause is a group of related words
containing a subject and a verb.
 2 BASIC
KINDS OF
CLAUSES
 Independent Example:
clauses
The motorcycle skidded
Definition across the road.
an Independent Clause (also called a main
clause) is another name for a complete The plant on the front porch
sentence. died.
Dependent clauses Example:

Definition
When the motorcycle
Dependent Clause (also called a skidded across the road…
subordinate clause) cannot stand alone as After the plant on the front
a sentence. Even though it has a subject
porch died…
and a verb, it is not complete. It depends
on the rest of the sentence to complete …. that confuse me.
the thought. Whoever wants to leave
early…
If I do not come by noon…
 Adverb
Clauses
Defin i ti o
n
Dependent clauses that function as
adverbs are usually easy to spot
because they are introduced by special
words called subordinating
conjunctions.
 Adverb clauses function like single-word adverbs.
They usually modify verbs, but they can also
modify adjectives and adverbs.

• Adverb clause modifying the verb:

Adverb clauses verb

Since the chairman was absent, I ran the meeting
 • Adverb clause modifying adjective:

Adjective adverb clause

Hungry because we hadn’t eaten since breakfast,
we stopped at the roadside diner.

• Adverb clause modifying and adverb:

Adverb adverb clause

My brother works harder than I do.
Adverb clause can appear at the beginning or
end of a sentence, and they tell the following:

When: While Lucy cleared the table, Danny

washed the dishes.
Where: Whenever you lead, I will follow.
Why: I stayed late because be needed my
help.
How: He cried as though his heart would
break
To what extent: He ran as far as he could.
Adverb clauses always exhibit two important
characteristics:

• Adverb clauses always begin with a

subordinating conjunction.

AC
Because I am tired, I cannot think clearly.
 • Adverb clauses can usually change
position in a sentence without changing
the meaning.

AC
When I saw his face, I wept with joy.

AC
I wept with joy when I saw his face.
 Advjective
Clauses
Listed below are some words that introduce
adjective clauses.

who whom that where

whose which when why
Like single-word adjectives, adjective clauses
modify nouns and pronouns. Adjective clauses tell
which one and what kind:

Which one: The church where we were married

has an enormous pipe organ.
(tells which church)

What kind: A cat that scratches the furniture

should be kept outside.
(tells what kind of cat)
 Unlike adverb clauses, adjective clauses cannot
change position in the sentence. They directly
follow the noun or pronoun that they modify, and
moving them will change the meaning of the
sentence or make in confusing.

Confusing: The runner showed his medal to the

coach who won the race.

Clear: The runner who won the race showed his

medal to the coach.
 Noun Clauses
Dependent clauses can also function as
nouns.
Noun Clauses serve the same functions as
single-word nouns or pronouns.

Subject: How he could speak three languages

fluently really amazed me.

Direct object: Scott always says whatever

first comes into his mind.
Indirect object: He offered whoever
washed his car a ticket to the game.

Subject complements: The chairman

will be whomever the committee selects.

Object of the preposition: The

package is for whoever wants it.
 Because noun clauses serve as basic sentence
parts, the sentences in which they appear are not
complete without them. Examine the following
sentence:

Noun clause
Why he made that remark is unclear.

The noun clause Why he made that remark is the

subject of the sentence. If you remove the clauses,
the sentence is incomplete.
 Sentences
Defin i ti o
n
A sentence is a word or group of words
standing between an initial capital
letter and a mark of end punctuation or
between two marks of end punctuation.
Classification
of Sentences
 Simple
Sentences
Defin i ti o
n
A simple sentence contains only one
clause, and independent clause. It may
be short and long, but it does not contain
any dependent clauses. Compare these
two simple sentences:
 S V
The dog barks.

S
The shaggy brown dog with the pretty pink
V
ribbon around its neck barks noisily at the pesky
squirrel climbing up the old oak tree in the park
near the elementary school on Elm. Street.
Compound Sentences
Defin i ti o
n
A compound sentence contains more than
one independent clause and no dependent
clauses. The independent clauses are
joined by commas and coordinating
conjunctions or by semicolons.
Coordinating conjunction:
IC CC IC
I tried to fix my computer, but I was not
successful.

Semicolon:
IC
Spring is my favourite season; the weather is
usually quite beautiful.
Complex Sentences
Defin i ti o
n
The term complex sentence has nothing to
do with how complicated a sentence may
appear. Complex sentence simply means
that the sentence has only one
independent clause and at least one
dependent clause.
Examples:
DC
Because I could not stop in time, I hit the
IC
garage door.

DC
Students who like to read usually do well in
school
Compound- complex
Sentences
Defin i ti o
n
A compound-complex sentence is just
what the same implies: it contains two or
more independent clauses and at least
one dependent clause.
Kinds of Sentences
 Declarative
Sentences
Definitio
n
If you write sentence which ends with a
period, that sentence is called declarative
sentence. A sentence that is a statement.
It is followed by a period.
Examples:

Kuya Lhance gave his toy to Densel Arch

John.
My father is workaholic.
He goes everyday in the mountain.
 Interrogative
Sentences
Defin i ti o
n
A sentence that is a question. It is
followed by a question mark.
Examples:

Did you know the answer?

What are the assignments in English?
Is it to be computerized?
 Imperative
Sentences
Defin i ti o
n
A sentence that is a command or request.
It is followed by a period. The subject is
always understood as “you.”
Examples:

Close the door. Please eat your food.

Go to your room and take a rest.
 Exclamatory
Sentences
Defin i ti o
n
A sentence that expresses a feeling. It is
followed by an exclamation mark or a
period.
Examples:

Wow! What a great surprise!

It’s fantastic!
I hate you.
THANK YOU
FOR
LISTENING!