Functions

Gerunds and Gerund Phrases

Definition and Uses

CHARACTERISTICS OF A GERUND:

• First, a gerund is the form of the verb, but it is not a verb.

• Second, it is a noun.

• And finally, it ends in ”-ing."

Example 1: Gerunds as Subjects

•Burning oil and smashing atoms are good for the environment.

First find the subject and verb:

BURNING and SMASHING are the subjects and ARE is the verb.

Therefore, BURNING and SMASHING are nouns.

A form of a verb that ends in -ING and acts as a noun is a gerund.

Example 2: Gerunds as Direct Object

•In the following examples, the gerund is bold and the verb is underlined

Many local governments and school districts forbid releasing student information to any outside group, including the military, colleges or corporations.

First find the subject and verb:

GOVERNMENTS and DISTRICTS are the subjects and FORBID is the verb. Is it an action verb? Yes? Do they forbid something? Yes. What? RELEASING.

So, RELEASING is an object, which is a noun.

A form of a verb that ends in -ING and acts as a noun is a gerund.

Example 3: Gerunds as Objects of the Preposition

•The story is the same for high-tech farming.

STORY is the subject. IS is the verb.

FARMING is the object of the preposition FOR.

An object is a noun.

A form of a verb that ends in -ING and acts as a noun is a gerund.

Example 4: Gerunds as Subjective Complement

My cat's favorite activity is sleeping.

ACTIVITY is the subject.

IS is the verb.

SLEEPING is the subjective complement.

A subjective complement is a noun.

A form of a verb that ends in -ING and acts as a noun is a gerund.

Gerund Phrases

A Gerund Phrase is a group of words

◊consisting of a gerund and the modifier(s)

◊and/or (pro)noun(s) or noun phrase(s)

–that function as the direct object(s),

–indirect object(s), or

–complement(s) of the action or state expressed in the gerund

The gerund phrase functions as the subject of the sentence.
Finding a needle in a haystack would be easier than what we're trying to do.

◊Finding (gerund)

◊a needle (direct object of action expressed in gerund)

◊in a haystack (prepositional phrase as adverb)

The gerund phrase functions as the direct object of the verb.

I hope that you appreciate my offering you this opportunity.

◊my (possessive pronoun adjective form, modifying the gerund)

◊offering (gerund)

◊you (indirect object of action expressed in gerund)

◊this opportunity (direct object of action expressed in gerund)

The gerund phrase functions as the subject complement.

◊Newt's favorite tactic has been lying to his constituents.

◊lying to (gerund)

◊his constituents (direct object of action expressed in gerund)

The gerund phrase functions as the object of the preposition for.

◊You might get in trouble for faking an illness to avoid work.

◊faking (gerund)

◊an illness (direct object of action expressed in gerund)

◊to avoid work (infinitive phrase as adverb)

The gerund phrase functions as the subject of the sentence.

Being the boss made Jeff feel uneasy.

◊Being (gerund)

◊the boss (subject complement for Jeff, via state of being expressed in gerund)

Points to remember:

1. A gerund is a verbal ending in -ing that is used as a noun.

2. A gerund phrase consists of a gerund plus modifier(s), object(s), and/or complement(s).

3. Gerunds and gerund phrases virtually never require punctuation.

Exercise on Gerunds: Underline the gerunds or gerund phrases in the following sentences and label how they function in the sentence (subject, direct object, subject complement, object of preposition). Answer on 1/2 crosswise.
1. Swimming keeps me in shape.

2. Swimming in your pool is always fun.

3. Telling your father was a mistake.

4. The college recommends sending applications early.

5. He won the game by scoring during the overtime period.

6. Her most important achievement was winning the national championship.

7. Going to work today took all my energy.

8. Fighting for a losing cause made them depressed.

9.The best dressed Junior at the prom was smiling sweetly all night.

10.An old grandfather clock is ticking eerily at the dark salon.

Exercise Answers: 20 points

1. Swimming keeps me in shape. [subject]

2. Swimming in your pool is always fun. [subject]

3. Telling your father was a mistake. [subject]

4. The college recommends sending applications early. [direct object]

5. He won the game by scoring during the overtime period. [object of preposition]

6. Her most important achievement was winning the national championship. [subject complement]

7. Going to work today took all my energy. [subject]

8. Fighting for a losing cause made them depressed. [subject]

9. The best dressed Junior at the prom was smiling sweetly all night. [subject complement]

10. An old grandfather clock is ticking eerily at the dark salon. [subject complement]

INFINITIVES AND INFINITIVE PHRASES

Infinitives

Ø First and foremost, an infinitive is the form of the verb, but it is not a verb.

Ø Second, an infinitive can be a noun, an adjective or an adverb.

Ø And finally, it is always "to" plus a verb.

Infinitives used as Nouns

An infinitive is to plus a verb form. It can be used as a noun.

Examples: to be, to see, to be seen, to be eaten.

The noun infinitive can be:

a subject (To eat is fun.);

a direct object (I like to eat.);

a predicate nominative (A fun thing is to eat.);

an appositive (My hope, to travel, never happened.);

an object of a preposition (I want nothing but to save.)

Noun Infinitives

Noun infinitives can have with them direct objects, predicate nominatives, predicate adjectives or modifiers to form what is called a infinitive phrase.

Example: To eat solid foods is hard for babies.

"To eat" is the noun infinitive used as the subject of the verb is, and it has its own direct object "foods" with the adjective "solid," which together make up the infinitive phrase "to eat solid foods" serving as the subject of the sentence.

INFINITIVES USED AS MODIFIERS

Infinitives used as an adjective:

The doctor gave me some vitamins to take.

Infinitives used as an adverb:

Ice cream is easy to freeze.

INFINITIVE PHRASE

The infinitive phrase includes the infinitive and the object of the infinitive or any modifiers related to the infinitive.

In the following examples, the infinitive is bold and the infinitive phrase is underlined.

Even in New York, fans did not manage to buy the hype.

•TO BUY is the direct object of the verb DID MANAGE.

◊THE HYPE is the object of the infinitive.
Infinitive Phrases

◊Infinitives can be expanded into phrases with:

◊An adverb-

The baby wanted to wiggle continuously.

◊An adverb phrase-

I plan to visit during the afternoon.

◊A direct object-

The siren helped to warn the pedestrians.

◊Indirect and Direct objects-

The bank decided to lend the man money.

THE OBJECT OF THE VERBAL(Infinitive)

Verbals are forms of verbs used as other parts of speech such as nouns, adjectives or adverbs.

In some cases a noun will follow the verbal and "receive" it. That noun is called the object of the verbal.

As with other objects, it can be identified by asking what? or who? about the verbal.

In the following examples, the object of the verbal is bold and the verbal (infinitive)is underlined

Most doctors warn their patients to quit smoking.

◊You can find the object of the verbal by asking the question what about the verbal.

◊e.g. TO QUIT what?

◊Answer: SMOKING.

Sometimes the object of a verbal may be an entire clause rather than a single word.

Tamala never stopped to think she might be in danger.

◊TO THINK is an infinitive.

◊Question: TO THINK WHAT?

◊Answer: She might be in danger.
Find the noun infinitives in the following sentences and tell how they are used.

◊1. To skate was his only desire.

◊2. I hope to enjoy retirement.

◊3. The team's desire is to win.

◊4. Most people want to marry.

◊5. Their terrible goal, to kill, failed.

Answers

1. to skate = subject

2. to enjoy = direct object

3. to win = predicate nominative

4. to marry = direct object

5. to kill = appositive

On ½ crosswise,write the verbal phrases that appear in the sentences below and identify if it is a gerund phrase, a participial phrase or an infinitive phrase .

◊Elephants have the distinction of being the largest land mammals.

◊Living in the tropical regions of Asia and Africa, they may reach a height of 13 feet.

◊Their tusks, weighing as much as 200 pounds each, can be more than 100 feet long.

◊Their distinctive ears are huge, measuring up to 42 inches in width.

◊Elephants use their fingerlike trunks to pick up objects.

◊Elephants browse all day, feeding on leaves and tall grasses.

◊Elephants can learn to carry logs and to perform in circuses.

◊Training young elephants takes great skill.

◊It can be difficult to handle them, too.

◊Hunted for food and for ivory, elephants now must struggle for their survival.

Answers: 20 pts.

◊being the largest land mammals-gerund phrase

◊Living in the tropical regions of Asia and Africa-participial phrase

◊weighing as much as 200lbs. Each-participial phrase

◊measuring up to 42 ins. In width-participial phrase

◊to pick up objects-infinitive phrase

◊feeding on leaves and tall grasses-participial phrase

◊to carry logs; to perform in circuses-infinitive phrases

◊Training young elephants-gerund phrase

◊to handle them-infinitive phrase

◊Hunted for food and for ivory-participial phrase

Participles and Participial Phrases

Functions and Examples

Participles

A participle is a verbal that is used as an adjective and most often ends in -ing or -ed.

The term verbal indicates that a participle is based on a verb and therefore expresses action or a state of being.

However, since they function as adjectives, participles modify nouns or pronouns.

Types of Participles

There are two types of participles:

1.Present participles end in -ing.

2.Past participles end in -ed, -en, -d, -t, or -n, as in the words asked, eaten, saved, dealt, and seen.

Examples:

◊The crying baby had a wet diaper.

◊Shaken, he walked away from the wrecked car.

◊The burning log fell off the fire.

◊Smiling, she hugged the panting dog.

Participial Phrases

A participial phrase is a group of words consisting of a participle and the modifier(s) and/or (pro)noun(s) or noun phrase(s) that function as the direct object(s), indirect object(s), or complement(s) of the action or state expressed in the participle

Examples of Participial Phrases

Removing his coat, Jack rushed to the river.

◊The participial phrase functions as an adjective modifying Jack.

Removing (participle)

his coat (direct object of action expressed in participle)

Delores noticed her cousin walking along the shoreline.

• The participial phrase functions as an adjective modifying cousin.

walking (participle)

along the shoreline (prepositional phrase as adverb)

Children introduced to music early develop strong intellectual skills.

• The participial phrase functions as an adjective modifying children.

introduced (to) (participle)

music (direct object of action expressed in participle)

early (adverb)

Having been a gymnast, Lynn knew the importance of exercise.

• The participial phrase functions as an adjective modifying Lynn.

Having been (participle)

a gymnast (subject complement for Lynn, via state of being expressed in participle)

Punctuation:

◊When a participial phrase begins a sentence, a comma should be placed after the phrase.

Arriving at the store, I found that it was closed.

Washing and polishing the car, Frank developed sore muscles.

◊If the participle or participial phrase comes in the middle of a sentence, it should be set off with commas only if the information is not essential to the meaning of the sentence.

Sid, watching an old movie, drifted in and out of sleep.

The church, destroyed by a fire, was never rebuilt.

◊Note that if the participial phrase is essential to the meaning of the sentence, no commas should be used:

The student earning the highest grade point average will receive a special award.

The guy wearing the chicken costume is my cousin.

◊If a participial phrase comes at the end of a sentence, a comma usually precedes the phrase if it modifies an earlier word in the sentence but not if the phrase directly follows the word it modifies.

The local residents often saw Ken wandering through the streets.
(The phrase modifies Ken, not residents.)

Tom nervously watched the woman, alarmed by her silence.
(The phrase modifies Tom, not woman.)

Exercise on Participles: Copy and encircle the participial phrase(s) in each of the following sentences, and underline the noun or pronoun modified.
Example: Broken hearted as a teen, I am wary of love.

1. Getting up at five, we got an early start.

2. Facing college standards, the students realized that they hadn't worked hard enough in high school.

3. Statistics reported by the National Education Association revealed that seventy percent of American colleges offer remedial English classes emphasizing composition.

4. The overloaded car gathered speed slowly.

5. Gathering my courage, I asked for a temporary loan.

Answers: 10 points

1. Getting up at five, we got an early start.

2. Facing college standards, the students realized that they hadn't worked hard enough in high school.

3. Statistics reported by the National Education Association

revealed that seventy percent of American colleges offer

remedial English classes emphasizing composition.

4. The overloaded car gathered speed slowly.

5. Gathering my courage, I asked for a temporary loan.

Adjective Phrases

Adjective Clauses And Appositives

Study the following sentences:

◊Adjective Clauses
"The woman who is dressed in red is my mother“

◊Adjective Phrases
"The woman dressed in red is my mother."

◊Restrictive /Nonrestrictive Relative Clauses
"My brother who is 10 years old starts working today." (restrictive)
"My brother, who is 10 years old, starts working today." (nonrestrictive)
Grammar Notes

◊Adjective clauses are also called relative clauses. They come after nouns and modify them.

◊They tell the listener or reader more about the person or thing that the noun refer to.

◊If the subject relative pronoun is followed by the verb be in any tense, both the relative pronoun and the verb be can be omitted.

◊A restrictive adjective clause gives information that helps to uniquely identify the noun that it describes.

◊A Nonrestrictive adjective clause, on the other hand, adds extra information about the noun it modifies. This information is not necessary to identify the noun.

1. Adjective Clauses

Adjective clauses are also called relative clauses.

They come after nouns and modify them.

In other words, they tell the listener or reader more about the person or thing that the noun refer to.

The pronouns that often begin adjective clauses are called relative pronouns ( that, which, who, whom, whose, where)

For example:
A person who sweeps the floor on buildings is known as janitor.
A person who sails is a sailor.
The man who sold the red house is a friend of mine.
2. Reducing Adjective Clauses to Adjective Phrases

If the subject relative pronoun is followed by the verb be in any tense, both the relative pronoun and the verb be can be omitted.

For example:

The realtor who is selling the house is Ann.

The realtor selling the house is Ann.

The garment that is worn by priests is usually white.

The garment worn by priests is usually white.
Restricted Adjective Clauses

A restrictive adjective clause gives information that helps to uniquely identify the noun that it describes.

For example:
My sister who attends UP is very shy.

(I have two sisters. one attends UP , the other doesn't)

Nonrestricted Relative Clauses

A Nonrestrictive adjective clause, on the other hand, adds extra information about the noun it modifies.

This information is not necessary to identify the noun.

For example:
Mary, who attends UP, is very shy.
Appositives

An appositive is a noun or pronoun -- often with modifiers -- set beside another noun or pronoun to explain or identify it.

Here are some examples of appositives.

My brother's car, a sporty red convertible with bucket seats, is the envy of my friends.

An appositive phrase usually follows the word it explains or identifies, but it may also precede it.

A bold innovator, Wassily Kandinsky is known for his colorful abstract paintings.

The first state to ratify the US Constitution, Delaware is rich in history.

Punctuation of appositives

A beautiful collie, Skip was my favorite dog.

Here we do not put commas around the appositive, because it is essential information.

Without the appositive, the sentence would be:

The popular US president was known for his eloquent and inspirational speeches.

We wouldn't know which president was being referred to.

John Kennedy, the popular US president, was known for his eloquent and inspirational speeches.

Here we put commas around the appositive because it is not essential information.

Without the appositive, the sentence would be.

John Kennedy was known for his eloquent and traditional speeches.

We still know who the subject of the sentence is without the appositive

John Kennedy the popular US president was quite different from John Kennedy the unfaithful husband.

Here we do not put commas around either appositive because they are both essential to understanding the sentence.

Without the appositives, the sentence would just be

John Kennedy was quite different from John Kennedy.

We wouldn't know what qualities of John Kennedy were being referred to without the appositive.

Exercise: On ½ crosswise, write the appositives in each sentence.

◊My son, the policeman, will be visiting us next week.

◊The captain ordered the ship's carpenters to assemble the shallop, a large rowboat.

◊Walter, the writer, is very attached to his mother, Mrs. Hammon.

◊The actor Paul Newman directed only one picture.

◊Elizabeth Teague, a sweet and lovable girl, grew up to be a mentally troubled woman.

Answers:

◊My son, the policeman, will be visiting us next week.

◊The captain ordered the ship's carpenters to assemble the shallop, a large rowboat.

◊Walter, the writer, is very attached to his mother, Mrs. Hammon.

◊The actor Paul Newman directed only one picture.

◊Elizabeth Teague, a sweet and lovable girl, grew up to be a mentally troubled woman.

Underline and punctuate the appositives in the following sentences. Remember: not all require punctuation.

6. Dole a company known throughout the South is considering a nationwide advertising campaign.

7. An above-average student and talented musician John made his family proud.

8.Titanic the extremely popular American film was widely criticized for its mediocre script.

9. The greatest American film ever made Citizen Kane won only one Academy Award.

10. 60 Minutes the TV news magazine program featured a story on the popular singer Whitney Houston.

Answers:

6.Dole , a company known throughout the South, is considering a nationwide advertising campaign.

7. An above-average student and talented musician, John made his family proud.

8. Titanic, the extremely popular American film, was widely criticized for its mediocre script.

9. The greatest American film ever made, Citizen Kane won only one Academy Award.

10. 60 Minutes, the TV news magazine program, featured a story on the popular singer Whitney Houston.

6 Elements of Drama

PLOT

Plot is the sequence of events or incidents of which the story is composed.

A. Conflict is a clash of actions, ideas, desires or wills.

a. person against person.

b. person against environment - external force, physical nature, society, or "fate.“

c. person against herself/himself - conflict with some element in her/his own nature; maybe physical, mental, emotional, or moral.

Man & Man: Lysander and Demetrius; Hermea and Helena; Titania and Oberon

Man & Society: Puck and Fate, Lovers and Forest or Law of Forest, Hermea and Law

Man vs himself: Helena and obsession, Oberon and Titania’s self issues

Couples: Hermea & Lysander, Helena & Demetrius, Theseus & Hippolyta, Titania & Oberon

B. Protagonist and Antagonist - the protagonist is the central character, sympathetic or unsympathetic. The forces working against her/him, whether persons, things, conventions of society, or traits of their own character, are the antagonists.

C. Artistic Unity - essential to a good plot; nothing irrelevant; good arrangement.

D. Plot Manipulation - a good plot should not have any unjustified or unexpected turns or twists; no false leads; no deliberate and misleading information.

Character

A. Direct Presentation - author tells us straight out, by exposition or analysis, or through another character.

B. B. Indirect Presentation - author shows us the character in action; the reader infers what a character is like from what she/he thinks, or says, or does.

These are also called dramatized characters and they are generally consistent (in behavior), motivated (convincing), and plausible (lifelike).

C. Character Types –

◊a Flat character is known by one or two traits;

◊a Round character is complex and many-sided;

◊a Stock character is a stereotyped character (a mad scientist, the absent-minded professor, the cruel mother-in-law);

◊a Static character remains the same from the beginning of the plot to the end; and

◊a Dynamic (developing) character undergoes permanent change.

This change must be

a. within the possibilities of the character;

b. sufficiently motivated; and

c. allowed sufficient time for change.

Theme

The controlling idea or central insight.

It can be:

1. a revelation of human character;

2. may be stated briefly or at great length;

3. a theme is not the "moral" of the story.
A. A theme must be expressible in the form of a statement - not "motherhood" but "Motherhood sometimes has more frustration than reward.“

B. A theme must be stated as a generalization about life; names of characters or specific situations in the plot are not to be used when stating a theme.

C. Any statement that reduces a theme to some familiar saying, aphorism, or cliché should be avoided. Do not use "You can't judge a book by its cover, " "Fish and guests smell in three days," and so on.

D. A theme is the central and unifying concept of the story. It must adhere to the following requirements:

1. It must account for all the major details of the story.

2. It must not be contradicted by any detail of the story.

3. It must not rely on supposed facts - facts not actually stated or clearly implied by the story.

Points Of View

A. Omniscient - a story told by the author, using the third person; her/his knowledge, control, and prerogatives are unlimited; authorial subjectivity.

B. Limited Omniscient - a story in which the author associates with a major or minor character; this character serves as the author's spokesperson or mouthpiece.

C. First Person - the author identifies with or disappears in a major or minor character; the story is told using the first person "I".

D. Objective or Dramatic: opposite of omniscient; displays authorial objectivity, the story is set in the present

Symbol

Literary symbol means more than what it is. It has layers of meanings. Whereas an image has one meaning, a symbol has many.

A. Names used as symbols.

B. Use of objects as symbols.

C. Use of actions as symbols

Irony

◊A term with a range of meanings, all of them involving some sort of discrepancy.

◊It should not be confused with sarcasm which is simply language designed to cause pain.

◊Irony is used to suggest the difference between appearance and reality, between expectation and fulfillment, the complexity of experience, and to furnish indirectly an evaluation of the author's material.

Types of Irony

A. Verbal irony - the opposite is said from what is intended.

B. Dramatic irony - the contrast between what a character says and what the reader knows to be true.

C. Irony of situation - discrepancy between appearance and reality, or between expectation and fulfillment, or between what is and what would seem appropriate.

Distinctly Drama

Drama has one characteristic peculiar to itself - it is written primarily to be performed, not read.

It is a presentation of action

a. through actors (the impact is direct and immediate),

b. on a stage (a captive audience), and

c. before an audience (suggesting a communal experience).

Of the four major points of view, the dramatist is limited to only one - the objective or dramatic.

The playwright cannot directly comment on the action or the character and cannot directly enter the minds of characters and tell us what is going on there.

But there are ways to get around this limitation through the use of:

1. soliloquy (a character speaking directly to the audience),

2. chorus ( a group on stage commenting on characters and actions), and

3. one character commenting on another.

CLAUSES

What is a clause?

◊A clause is a collection of grammatically-related words including a predicate and a subject (though sometimes the subject is implied).

◊A collection of grammatically-related words without a subject or without a predicate is called a phrase.

◊Clauses are the building blocks of sentences : every sentence consists of one or more clauses.

Examples of Clauses

◊cows eat grass

This example is a clause, because it contains the subject ``cows'' and the predicate ``eat grass.'‘

◊cows eating grass are visible from the highway

This is a complete clause again. The subject ``cows eating grass'' and the predicate ``are visible from the highway'' make up a complete thought.

Independent and Dependent Clauses

If a clause can stand alone as a sentence, it is an independent clause, as in the following example:

Independent

the Prime Minister is in Ottawa

◊Some clauses, however, cannot stand alone as sentences: in this case, they are dependent clauses or subordinate clauses.

◊Consider the same clause with the subordinating conjunction ``because'' added to the beginning:

because the Prime Minister is in Ottawa

◊the clause could not be a sentence by itself, since the conjunction ``because'' suggests that the clause is providing an explanation for something else.

Adjective Clauses

◊An adjective clause is a dependent clause that modifies a noun.

◊It is possible to combine the following two sentences to form one sentence containing an adjective clause:

The children are going to visit the museum.
They are on the bus.

◊The children who are on the bus are going to visit the museum.
| adjective clause |

◊Adjective clauses are also called relative clauses.

◊They come after nouns and modify them.

◊In other words, they tell the listener or reader more about the person or thing that the noun refer to.

◊The pronouns that often begin adjective clauses are called relative pronouns ( that, which, who, whom, whose, where)

◊For example:
A person who sweeps the floor on buildings is known as janitor.

A person who sails is a sailor.

The man who sold the red house is a friend of mine.

Relative pronouns as objects

◊The object relative pronouns for people are who, whom, that.

◊Whom is more formal than who.

◊The object relative pronouns for things are which, that.

◊For example:

The candidate who gets more votes becomes the president.

The first time that I voted was in 1982.

◊You may omit the relative pronoun in restricted adjective clauses.

◊For example:

The first time I voted was in 1982.
Restricted/Nonrestricted Relative Clauses

◊The two main types of adjective clauses--restrictive and nonrestrictive-- have distinct meanings and uses.

◊A restrictive adjective clause gives information that helps to uniquely identify the noun that it describes.

◊For example:

My sister who attends KU is very shy. (I have two sisters. one attends KU , the other doesn't)

◊A Nonrestrictive adjective clause, on the other hand, adds extra information about the noun it modifies.

◊This information is not necessary to identify the noun.

◊For example:

Mary, who attends KU, is very shy.
Things to remember

◊Like adjectives, adjective clauses modify nouns.

◊Like appositives, they allow us to pack additional information about nouns into our sentences and help us avoid being choppy or redundant.

◊However, there are two significant differences between adjective clauses and appositives:

1. Adjective clauses are clauses while appositive phrases are phrases.

2. Adjective clauses always begin with an identification word which is either a relative adjective or a relative adverb

Relative adjectives*: who, that , whose, which, whom, what, whoever

*sometimes called relative pronouns

Relative adverbs: where, when

Relative adjectives*: who, that , whose, which, whom, what, whoever

*sometimes called relative pronouns

Relative adverbs: where, when

Examples

Victor knows his vacuums. They sell like crazy.

Victor knows his vacuums which sell like crazy.

Victor knows his vacuums that sell like crazy.

Lindsay goes too fast on her Harley. It needs to be serviced once a week.

Lindsay goes too fast on her Harley which needs to be serviced once a week.

Lindsay goes too fast on her Harley that needs to be serviced once a week.

◊That, which, and who are the most common words that signify adjective clauses. Note that that and which modify things, while that and who modify people.

Exercises: Combine the following sentences using an adjective clause using the introductory words who, whose, whom, which, that, when and where. 1/2 crosswise; answers only.

1. The occasion was a momentous one for all. All the family were together at last.

2. The site has several steep slopes. The million-dollar home will be built there.

3. The time was very exciting. Our team won the championship.

4. The author wrote the novel. He received a Pulitzer Prize.

5. I recall the time. There was no freeway to Salt Lake City then.

6. The little dog was running behind the boy that was growling and barking fiercely.

7. The trunk of the passenger was placed on the train which was covered with travel stickers.

8. A dog ran onto the football field which looked like the team mascot.

9. The car is now in our garage that was in a wreck yesterday.

10. The crickets were the targets of our poison bait which were destroying our crops

Answers

1. The occasion when all the family were together at last was a momentous one for all.

2. The site where the million-dollar home will be built has several steep slopes.

3. The time when our team won the championship was very exciting.

4. The author who received a Pulitzer Prize wrote the novel.

5. I recall the time when there was no freeway to Salt Lake City.

6. The little dog that was growling and barking fiercely was running behind the boy.

7. The passenger's trunk which was covered with travel stickers was placed on the train.

8. A dog which looked like the team mascot ran onto the football field.

9. The car that was in a wreck yesterday is now in our garage.

10. The crickets which were destroying our crops were the targets of our poison bait.

APPOSITIVES

◊An appositive is a noun or prounoun followed immediately by another noun or pronoun that explains, identifies or renames the noun or pronoun.

◊In the example below, the noun Thomas tells which brother is a great tennis player.

◊Thomas is an appositive; it is in apposition to the noun brother.
My brother Thomas is a great tennis player.

◊Like any noun or pronoun, an Appositive may have modifiers; in which case, it becomes an appositive phrase.

◊Strictly speaking, an appositive phrase is not a subordinate word group; rather, it functions somewhat as does an adjective, to describe or rename a noun or pronoun.

◊In form an appositive is a noun or noun equivalent.
Examples of Appositives

◊my favorite sport, swimming

(The appositive identifies my favorite sport).
◊the player's fear that she would lose the match

(The appositive phrase identifies the player's fear.)
◊Appositives are reductions of longer forms, like

Fred, who is a rebel Fred, the rebel

Dennis, who is a menace Dennis the menace

my favorite game, which is chess my favorite game, chess

A Midsummer Night's Dream takes place in Athens. Theseus, the Duke of Athens, is planning his marriage with Hippolyta, and as a result he is a planning a large festival. Egeus enters, followed by his daughter Hermia, her beloved Lysander, and her suitor Demetrius. Egeus tells Theseus that Hermia refuses to marry Demetrius, wanting instead to marry Lysander. He asks for the right to punish Hermia with death if she refuses to obey.

Theseus agrees that Hermia's duty is to obey her father, and threatens her with either entering a nunnery or marrying the man her father chooses. Lysander protests, but is overruled by the law. He and Hermia than decide to flee by night into the woods surrounding Athens, where they can escape the law and get married. They tell their plan to Helena, a girl who is madly in love with Demetrius. Hoping to gain favor with Demetrius, Helena decides to tell him about the plan.

Some local artisans and workmen have decided to perform a play for Theseus as a way to celebrate his wedding. They choose Pyramus and Thisbe for their play, and meet to assign the roles. Nick Bottom gets the role of Pyramus, and Flute takes the part of Thisbe. They agree to meet the next night in the woods to rehearse the play.

Robin Goodfellow, a puck, meets a fairy who serves Queen Titania. He tells the fairy that his King Oberon is in the woods, and that Titania should avoid Oberon because they will quarrel again. However, Titania and Oberon soon arrive and begin arguing about a young boy Titania has stolen and is caring for. Oberon demands that she give him the boy, but she refuses.

Oberon decides to play a trick on Titania and put some pansy juice on her eyes. The magical juice will make her fall in love with first person she sees upon waking up. Soon after Puck is sent away to fetch the juice, Oberon overhears Demetrius and Helena in the woods.

Demetrius deserts Helena in the forest, leaving her alone. Oberon decides that he will change this situation, and commands Robin to put the juice onto Demetrius's eyes when he is sleeping. He then finds Titania and drops the juice onto her eyelids. Robin goes to find Demetrius, but instead comes across Lysander and accidentally uses the juice on him.

By accident Helena comes across Lysander and wakes him up. He immediately falls in love with her and starts to chase her through the woods. Together they arrive where Oberon is watching, and he realizes the mistake. Oberon then puts the pansy juice onto Demetrius's eyelids, who upon waking up also falls in love with Helena. She thinks that the two men are trying to torment her for being in love with Demetrius, and becomes furious at their protestations of love.

The workmen arrive in the woods and start to practice their play. They constantly ruin the lines of the play and mispronounce the words. Out of fear of censorship, they decide to make the play less realistic. Therefore the lion is supposed to announce that he is not a lion, but only a common man. Bottom also feels obliged to tell the audience that he is not really going to die, but will only pretend to do so. Puck, watching this silly scene, catches Bottom alone and puts an asses head on him. When Bottom returns to his troupe, they run away out of fear. Bottom then comes across Titania, and succeeds in waking her up. She falls in love with him due to the juice on her eyes, and takes him with her.

Lysander and Demetrius prepare to fight one another for Helena. Puck intervenes and leads them through the woods in circles until they collapse onto the ground in exhaustion. He then brings the two women to same area and puts them to sleep as well.

Oberon finds Titania and releases her from the spell. He then tells the audience that Bottom will think is all a dream when he wakes up. He further releases Lysander from the spell. Theseus arrives with a hunting party and finds the lovers stretched out on the ground. He orders the hunting horns blown in order to wake them up.

The lovers explain why they are in the woods, at which point Egeus demands that he be allowed to exercise the law on Hermia. However, Demetrius intervenes and tells them that he no longer loves Hermia, but rather only loves Helena. Theseus decides to overbear Egeus and let the lovers get married that day with him. Together they return to Athens.

Bottom wakes up and thinks that he has dreamed the entire episode. He swiftly returns to Athens where he meets his friends. Together they head over to Theseus's palace. Theseus looks over the list of possible entertainment for that evening and settles on the play of Pyramus and Thisbe. Bottom and the rest of his company perform the play, after which everyone retires to bed.

Puck arrives and starts to sweep the house clean. Oberon and Titania briefly bless the couples and their future children. After they leave Puck asks the audience to forgive the actors is they were offended. He then tells the audience that if anyone disliked the play, they should imagine that it was only a dream.

Adjective Phrases

An adjective phrase is any phrase which modifies a noun or pronoun.

You often construct adjective phrases using participles or prepositions together with their objects:

I was driven mad by the sound of my neighbour's constant piano practising.

In this sentence, the prepositional phrase "of my neighbour's constant piano practising" acts as an adjective modifying the noun "sound."

My father-in-law locked his keys in the trunk of a borrowed car.

Similarly in this sentence, the prepositional phrase "of a borrowed car" acts as an adjective modifying the noun "trunk."

We saw Peter dashing across the quadrangle.

Here the participle phrase "dashing across the quadrangle" acts as an adjective describing the proper noun "Peter."

We picked up the records broken in the scuffle.

In this sentence, the participle phrase "broken in the scuffle" modifies the noun phrase "the records."

More than one adjective phrase may modify the same word.

Example:

• Water the plants with pink flowers in the den.

Subject (You)

Verb=Water

Direct Object=the plants

Prepositional phrase=with pink flowers, modifies “plants”

Prepositional phrase= in the den, modifies “plants”

Adverb Phrases

A prepositional phrase can also be an adverb phrase, functioning as an adverb, as in the following sentences:

She bought some spinach when she went to the corner store.

In this sentence, the prepositional phrase "to the corner store" acts as an adverb modifying the verb "went."

Lightning flashed brightly in the night sky.

In this sentence, the prepositional phrase "in the night sky" functions as a adverb modifying the verb "flashed."

In early October, Giselle planted twenty tulip bulbs; unfortunately, squirrels ate the bulbs and none bloomed.

In this sentence, the prepositional phrase "in early October" acts as an adverb modifying the entire sentence.

We will meet at the library at 3:30 P.M.

In this sentence, the prepositional phrase "at 3:30 P.M." acts as an adverb modifying the verb phrase "will meet."

The dogs were capering about the clown's feet.

In this sentence, the prepositional phrase "about the clown's feet" acts as an adverb modifying the verb phrase "were capering."

When modifying a verb, an adverb phrase may come before or after the modified word.

Modifying a verb:

I mowed the lawn before he got here.

Except for one section, the lawn was mowed.

Modifying an adjective:

I am angry with you.

Modifying an adverb:

The shovel bit deep into the earth.

As with adjective phrases, more than one adverb can modify the same word.

Example:

Before breakfast, the smell of bacon drifted into my bedroom.

Subject=the smell of bacon

Verb=drifted

Prepositional phrase=Before breakfast,

modifies “drifted”

Prepositional phrase=into my bedroom,

Continuation of Clauses:

Exercises: On ½ crosswise;underline the independent clause and encircle the dependent clause in each sentence.

1. When you finish your work, you may give it to me.

2. Do you remember the time when we stayed up?

3. When the clouds lifted, the sun shone.

4. My aunt, who lives in Canada, came to visit this summer.

5. Chad,who is here, wants to see you.

6. Players who wish to join the team may sign up today.

7. The computer that she bought is already outdated.

8. I know a girl who sings in the chorus.

9. Whenever I go to the dentist, she encourages me to floss.

10. She lives in the building where the fire raged.