Prepositional Phrases

Modifying Phrases

A phrase is a group of words without a subject/predicate pair that modifies either a noun or a verb. Adjective phrases modify a noun or pronoun, and adverbial phrases modify a verb. Phrases serve as modifiers to add content to other elements in the sentence. Four types of phrases will be discussed in this lesson, the adjective phrase, the adverbial phrase, the infinitive phrase, and the participle phrase. Think of modifying phrases as stage prompts in an act. For example:
The man in the red hat laughs at the man in the clown suit.
The action in this sentence is – laughs. The actor is the man, but it is not just any man. The prepositional phrase indicates that the man is wearing a red hat. The actor is the man in the red hat. Since the phrase modifies the actor or the subject of the clause, the entire phrase is a part of the subject of the clause. The phrase – at the man – is a adverbial phrase modifying the verb – laughs. The phrase describes what the man in the red hat is laughing at. Since this phrase modifies the predicate of the clause – laughs, it is a part of the predicate. Furthermore, the phrase – in the clown suit – modifies the man that is the object of the verb. It says something about the man. He is wearing a clown suit.

Notice that each of these modifying phrases begins with a preposition. They are both all called prepositional phrases, but they serve different purposes. If the phrase modifies a noun, then it is a prepositional adjective phrase. If it modifies a verb, it is a prepositional adverbial phrase.

Like an adverb modifies a verb, an adverbial phrase is a phrase that modifies a verb. For example:

I drive.

This is a simple sentence with one subject/predicate pair. However, there is not much information about this phrase. It could mean the following:

I drive my girlfriend crazy.  (Simple sentence with a simple object – my girlfriend crazy).

I drive nails into the wood. (Simple sentence with an adverbial phrase – into the wood.)

I drive a car. (Simple sentence with a simple object – a car).

I drive a bus to work.

Each of the above sentences contains a direct object of the verb, drive.

In the first sentence, the direct object is – my girlfriend. The adverb is – crazy, but that is not an adverbial prepositional phrase. It is simply an adverb.

In the second sentence, the direct object is – nails – but the phrase – into the wood – adds information about where the nails are being driven. This is a prepositional phrase that modifies the verb, drive. Therefore, it is an adverbial phrase.

The direct object of the third sentence is – a car, but not much information is given about how or to where the car is driven.

The fourth sentence adds this information with a propositional phrase – to work. It says to where I drive. The preposition is – to. The object of the preposition is – work – Therefore, this is an adverbial phrase.

Let’s consider another sentence with an adverbial phrase.

The man walked into the bank.

The phrase – into the bank – is an adverbial phrase that modifies the verb – walked.  The preposition is – into. The object of the preposition is – the bank – It answers the question where the man walked.

Now, an infinitive phrase is like an adverbial prepositional phrase because it modifies a verb and contains the preposition – to. However, the object of an infinitive phrase is an unconjugated verb. For example, in the phrase:

The man walked into the bank to cash a check.

The phrase – to cash a check. – is an infinitive phrase that answers the question why the man walked into the bank. He wanted to cash a check.  Notice that the preposition – to – is followed by a verb. This is an infinitive phrase because the object of the preposition is an infinitive verb. If the object of the preposition were a noun, then the phrase would be an adverbial phrase. The two phrases can appear in the same simple sentence. For example:

She drove to work to cash a check

Both of these phrases modify the verb – drove, but the object of the prepositional phrase – to work – is a noun and not a verb. The second phrase – to cash a check – is a verb. That is the subtle distinction between an adverbial phrase and an infinitive phrase.

The Adjective Prepositional Phrase

An adjective is a word that modifies a noun. The following example uses an adjective phrase along with an infinitive phrase and an adverbial phrase.

The Constitution of the United States of America serves to establish the law of the land for the good of all the citizens.

The first adjective phrase modifies the Constitution. It specifies that it is not any constitution. Rather it is the Constitution – of the United States of America. The second adjective phrase modifies – the law. It specifies that it is not just any law. Rather, it is the law – of the land. The third adjective prepositional phrase is – of all the citizens. This phrase modifies the object – good – of the prepositional phrase – for the good, which is a noun.

The phrase – for the good – is adverbial prepositional phrase that modifies the infinitive phrase   – to establish. It adds information about why the law was established. Since the infinitive phrase – to establish – modifies the main verb – serve, the entire adverbial prepositional phrase – for the good – modifies the entire verb phrase – serves to establish. Thus, an adjective phrase can modify a noun in the main clause – The Constitution of the United States of America -, a noun as the object of the clause – law -, or an object of a preposition in another adverbial phrase – good.

It is common to see phrases interrupt the subject of the sentence and the predicate of the sentence. This is a common origin of a subject/verb disagreement error. For instance, the following sentence commits the subject/verb disagreement error.

The California Code of Regulations require an applicant to sign the application.

It may seem like the correct verb is – require – because the word before it – Regulations – is plural, but that word is the object of the adjective phrase – of Regulations. It is not the subject of the clause. The subject is California. An analysis of this sentence will reveal the subject. The correct sentence reads:

The California Code of Regulations requires an applicant to sign the application.

The following examples analyzed simple sentences with modifying phrases. Complex sentences will contain other modifying clauses, which will form a complex sentence. Complex sentences may contain adjective clauses that may present subject/verb disagreement problems, as well. For example:

The California Code of Regulations that was proposed in the lower house of Congress and passed by all its members requires an applicant to sign the application.

In the above example, the clause sits between the subject and the verb of the sentence. A detailed analysis of the clauses of complex sentences will begin the next lesson.  Sometimes, a grammar check will reveal this error but not always. Regardless, to be able to read and understand complex English writing, a solid understanding of Complex English syntax will be worthwhile. In the next lessons, a discussion of the different types of modifying clauses will reveal more insight into this topic.

5

The Elements of a Sentence: Clauses

Remember that a clause must have a subject (an actor)  and a predicate (an action)

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1. How many clauses does this sentence contain?

The technocrats assert that strategically placing solar panels within the environment will deliver much needed relief from climate change while providing clean, renewable energy to satisfy the wants and needs of the people

Your score is

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