Unit 4 Lesson 8: Sentence Construction Flashcards
absolute phrase
a set of two or more words that includes a noun and a modifier and modifies a sentence
antecedent
the word or phrase that a pronoun refers to
participial phrase
a phrase that begins with a participle and acts like an adjective
Many phrases and clauses can be moved to different positions in their sentences without changing the correctness of the sentences’ grammar. What effect does it have
But, these manipulations do have an effect on what the sentence emphasizes or focuses on.
prepositional phrase
a preposition followed by its object and the object’s modifiers
Impact of Placing phrases and clauses toward the middle of a sentence
Placing phrases and clauses toward the middle of a sentence can create a pause and is another option for a writer.
Impact of phrases and clauses at the front of a sentence
Phrases and clauses at the front of a sentence will generally receive more of the reader’s attention than phrases at the back of a sentence.
Writers can emphasize events or actions when they place participial phrases at the beginning of sentences. A participial phrase is a type of phrase that contains a participle and always functions as an adjective. Consider the difference in focus in these two sentences:
* Ryan knew he would have to leave the disc golf course right away after he read the text message.
* Reading the text message, Ryan knew he would have to leave the disc golf course right away.
Using a participial phrase emphasizes the cause of Ryan’s departure from the course by placing the idea about the text message first. The other sentence emphasizes the result: leaving the course.
Next, let’s look at absolute phrases. An absolute phrase is a set of two or more words that includes a noun and a modifier and modifies a sentence. An absolute phrase can appear at the beginning or the end of a sentence, because the phrase modifies the entire sentence and not just the subject or verb. Sometimes, however, it is better to put it in one of the two possible locations.
* Snow falling, the parents watched as their daughters built snow sculptures.
* At the big family gathering the relatives relaxed in the living room, turkey roasting.
In the first sentence it is better for the absolute phrase to appear at the start of the sentence, because if it were at the end readers might wonder if snow was falling off the sculptures. In the second sentence, the absolute phrase can appear at either the beginning or the end. Note that “snow falling” and “turkey roasting” are general conditions that affect everyone equally, and so they do not modify a particular section of the sentence.
When placing a participial phrase at the beginning of a sentence, you must follow it immediately with the noun that it modifies. Otherwise, you will have what is known as a dangling participle, or misplaced modifier.
Incorrect
Having completed the homework, the computer game was begun.
Correct
Having completed the homework, I began the computer game.
In the first sentence it is not clear who has finished the homework and started the game.
In addition, be careful to put a sequence of events in the right order when using a participial phrase.
Incorrect
The park ranger, waving his arms to distract the bison in front of the car, ran onto the road.
Correct
The park ranger ran onto the road, waving his arms to distract the bison in front of the car.
Why?
The first sentence could be interpreted as saying the ranger, not the animal, was in front of the car.
A prepositional phrase is a preposition followed by its object and the object’s modifiers. With prepositional phrases, the position of the phrase can affect the emphasis of the sentence. The following example shows the same prepositional phrase in two different locations:
- In the park, senior citizens were doing their morning Tai chi exercises.
- Senior citizens were doing their morning Tai chi exercises in the park.
The first sentence emphasizes the park; the writer might be looking around the neighborhood and describing what is going on in various locations. The second sentence emphasizes the people doing the exercises.
Be careful with pronouns and prepositional phrases. Consider this example: One of our kittens is being difficult again. She is refusing her breakfast.
The word she refers to one and not to kittens. The word one is the antecedent of the pronoun she. The antecedent is the noun or pronoun that a pronoun refers to.
Explain what is wrong with this sentence and how to fix it: One of our kittens, Amy, is being difficult again because they are refusing their breakfast.
There is a pronoun/antecedent agreement problem. The sentence is about one kitten: Amy. The correct sentence is: One of our kittens, Amy, is being difficult again because she is refusing her breakfast.
Changing the position of a clause in a complex sentence affects the emphasis in the sentence in a way similar to that of changing the position of a phrase. Here is an example of a dependent clause in different positions in a complex sentence:
- As soon as the doors of the subway car opened, commuters poured out onto the platform.
- Commuters poured out onto the platform as soon as the doors of the subway car opened.
When the clause is placed at the start of the sentence, the opening of the doors is emphasized.
In a compound sentence, the position of the clauses should not be switched if the sentence shows a sequence of events. In addition, if the sentence has a pronoun in one of the independent clauses, and the clauses can be switched, the pronoun and antecedent must also be switched.
- The huge ship entered the harbor, and it called the tugboats for help docking.
* Clauses and Antecedent Switched
- The huge shipcalled the tugboats for help docking, and it entered the harbor.
In a compound-complex sentence, the dependent clause is usually connected with one of the independent clauses, and so it must appear next to that independent clause.
Compound-Complex Sentence
I was not looking forward to summer camp, because my mom had a sprained ankle, and I would not be able to help her for two weeks.
Correct Manipulation of Clauses
Because my mom had a sprained ankle, I was not looking forward to summer camp; I would not be able to help her for two weeks.
Incorrect Manipulation of Clauses
I was not looking forward to summer camp, and I would not be able to help my mom for two weeks, because she had a sprained ankle.
Manipulate a prepositional phrase in the following sentence to alter the emphasis of the sentence: Of the 20 ice cream flavors, I prefer strawberry.
I prefer strawberry of the 20 ice cream flavors.
Read the following sentence: My sister and my mom will go to a jazz show, and she is really enjoying it.
There are two errors in the sentence. Identify the errors and then explain how to fix them.
The antecedent of the pronoun she is unclear, because there is both a mother and a sister. Also, the verb tenses are inconsistent; the future tense will go does not match the present progressive tense is enjoying. Here is a correction: My sister and my mom are at a jazz show, and my mom is really enjoying it.
adverbial clause
a dependent clause that modifies the verb in an independent clause
dependent clause
a clause that does not form a sentence
independent clause
a clause that forms a sentence
complex sentence
a sentence that contains an independent clause and at least one dependent clause joined by a subordinating conjunction
clause
a group of words that includes a subject and a verb
compound sentence
a sentence that contains two or more independent clauses joined by a coordinating conjunction
phrase
a group of words that works together as a unit within a sentence
