Mastering English Phrases

True or false: Phrases contain a verb and subject

Mary wrote a famous novel after having a nightmare about a scientist and his strange experiments.- Prep. phrase.

True or false: Appositive phrases are grammatically essential to the rest of the sentence.

After high school, my mother studied at Calvin College. - There are two prepositional phrases in this sentence.

Locked into Christy's eyes that day, his family might have felt that they were meeting him for the first time.

Today's crossword puzzle is difficult to complete correctly.

At the reptile exhibit, we saw forty adders coiled together.

Lee prefers swimming in water cooler than 72 degrees Fahrenheit. This is a gerund phrase

If you want to go to the concert tonight, give me a call after school.

The United States has been greatly enriched by many diverse cultures.

Preparing for the SAT took more time than I thought it would.

He won twenty games during the 1910 season, the best season of his career. - Appositive Phrase.

Marian's attempt to rescue the cat was covered by a reporter.

The emu, a flightless bird from Australia, is similar to the ostrich.

Although he played only briefly for a semipro team, he pitched a four-hit victory in his first major league game.

Fighting for women's suffrage was Carrie Chapman Catt's mission in life.

True or false: Infinitive phrases start with 'to' followed by a verb.

Working on the school newspaper has taught me responsibility.

Gerund phrases function as nouns; therefore, in most cases they are essential to the rest of the sentence.

Born in 1883 on White Earth Reservation, Minnesota was half Chippewa.