Phrases

Why This Matters

Phrases are the workhorses of sentence construction, and you're being tested on your ability to identify them, understand their functions, and use them correctly. The AP exam doesn't just want you to spot a prepositional phrase—it wants you to know whether that phrase is acting as an adjective or an adverb, and whether it's placed correctly to avoid ambiguity. Mastering phrases means understanding how writers build complexity and precision into their sentences.

Think of phrases as the middle ground between single words and full clauses. They add detail, create rhythm, and allow for sophisticated expression without the grammatical weight of additional subjects and verbs. When you encounter questions about modifier placement, sentence combining, or rhetorical effect, you're really being asked about phrases. Don't just memorize the nine types—know what grammatical role each phrase plays and how misusing them creates errors like dangling modifiers or misplaced descriptions.

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Core Building Blocks: Noun and Verb Phrases

These two phrase types form the foundation of every sentence. A noun phrase centers on a noun plus its modifiers, while a verb phrase centers on a main verb plus any helpers.

Noun Phrases

• Head noun plus modifiers—includes articles, adjectives, and other nouns that describe or limit the main noun
• Functions as subject, object, or complement—anywhere a single noun could appear, a noun phrase can substitute
• Identification tip: find the main noun, then identify everything attached to it ("the quick brown fox" = head noun "fox" with three modifiers)

Verb Phrases

• Main verb plus auxiliaries—helping verbs like have, be, and will combine with the main verb to show tense, mood, and voice
• Expresses action, state, or occurrence—the engine that drives what's happening in the sentence
• Complex tenses require multiple auxiliaries—"has been running" uses two helpers to create present perfect progressive

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Modifying Phrases: Adding Description

These phrases function like adjectives or adverbs, providing additional information about other words in the sentence. The key question is always: what does this phrase modify?

Prepositional Phrases

• Preposition + object—begins with words like in, on, under, between and ends with a noun or pronoun
• Functions as adjective or adverb—"the book on the table" (adjective) vs. "she ran through the park" (adverb)
• Most common phrase type—appears constantly in academic writing and is frequently tested for correct placement

Adjectival Phrases

• Modifies nouns or pronouns—answers which one? or what kind?
• Can include multiple structures—prepositional phrases, participial phrases, or simple adjective combinations all qualify
• Example structure: "full of energy" modifies "child" by describing a quality

Adverbial Phrases

• Modifies verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs—answers how?, when?, where?, or to what degree?
• Provides context for actions—"with great enthusiasm" tells us how someone performed an action
• Flexible placement—can often move within a sentence, but placement affects emphasis and clarity

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Verbal Phrases: Verbs Acting as Other Parts of Speech

These phrases derive from verbs but function as nouns, adjectives, or adverbs. Understanding verbals is crucial because they're a common source of modifier errors.

Participial Phrases

• Present or past participle as base—begins with -ing form or -ed/-en form and acts as an adjective
• Must clearly modify a noun—"Running down the street, the dog barked" (correct) vs. "Running down the street, the mailbox appeared" (dangling modifier)
• Common error source—misplaced participial phrases are frequently tested on the AP exam

Gerund Phrases

• -ing verb form functioning as noun—looks identical to a present participle but serves a completely different grammatical role
• Can be subject, object, or complement—"Swimming in the ocean" can be a sentence's subject
• Test tip: if you can replace the phrase with "it" or "something," it's functioning as a noun (gerund)

Infinitive Phrases

• "To" + base verb form—includes the infinitive and any modifiers or objects that follow
• Triple threat: can function as noun, adjective, or adverb depending on context
• Versatile construction—"to win the championship" could be a subject, an object, or a modifier

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Renaming and Contextualizing: Appositives and Absolutes

These phrases provide additional information without functioning as traditional modifiers. They add sophistication and detail to sentences.

Appositive Phrases

• Renames or clarifies a noun—provides an alternative identification or additional detail about something already mentioned
• Essential vs. non-essential—restrictive appositives (no commas) are necessary for meaning; non-restrictive appositives (with commas) add extra information
• Punctuation matters—"My brother, a skilled musician, performed" vs. "The musician Yo-Yo Ma performed" (no commas because it specifies which musician)

Absolute Phrases

• Noun + participle construction—modifies the entire sentence rather than a single word
• Set off by commas—"Her arms crossed, she waited" adds context to the whole action
• Creates sophisticated sentences—allows writers to pack additional imagery or circumstance into a single sentence

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Quick Reference Table

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Self-Check Questions

1. What distinguishes a gerund phrase from a participial phrase, given that both use the -ing form of a verb?

2. Which two phrase types can function as adjectives, and how would you determine which one a writer has used in a given sentence?

3. Compare and contrast appositive phrases and absolute phrases: how do their relationships to the rest of the sentence differ?

4. If an FRQ asks you to identify a dangling modifier, which phrase type is most likely involved, and what makes it "dangling"?

5. A prepositional phrase can function as either an adjective or an adverb—what question should you ask yourself to determine which role it's playing in a specific sentence?