PHRASES, CLAUSES, AND

VERBS

WHAT ARE ACTIVE AND PASSIVE VOICE?

Like people, verbs can be

Harry tosses the ball.active

or

passivePhil has been hit by a snowball.

Jim is confused by the question.

Jill fell in the mud.

WHAT ARE ACTIVE AND PASSIVE VOICE?

Voice is the form a verb takes to show whether the subject of the verb . . .

performs the action

or receives the action

The meal is prepared by Chef Tanaka.

Subject Verb

Subject Verb

Chef Tanaka prepares the meal.

When the subject of a verb performs the action, the verb is in the active voice.

WHAT ARE ACTIVE AND PASSIVE VOICE?ACTIVE VOICE

The tornado damaged many homes in the area.

The subject tornado performs the action of damaging.

SubjectActive-voice

verb

Carol has adopted the puppy.

WHAT ARE ACTIVE AND PASSIVE VOICE?ACTIVE VOICEA transitive verb in the active voice has a direct object, which tells who or what receives the action.

Carol has adopted the puppy.

VerbDirect object

The subject Carol performs the action.

The direct object puppy receives the action.

WHAT ARE ACTIVE AND PASSIVE VOICE?PASSIVE VOICEWhen the subject of a verb receives the action, the verb is in the passive voice.

Many homes in the area were damaged by the tornado.

The subject homes receives the action of being damaged.

Subject Passive-voice verb

WHAT ARE ACTIVE AND PASSIVE VOICE?PASSIVE VOICEPassive voice constructions include

form of be + past participle

were returned

Other helping verbs may also be included.

form of be+ past participle

have returned

helping verb +

been

WHAT ARE ACTIVE AND PASSIVE VOICE?PASSIVE VOICEPassive voice constructions include a form of be, the past participle of the verb, and sometimes other helping verbs.

Form of be

Past participle

The paintings were returned to the museum.

Form of be

Past participle

The paintings have been returned to the museum.

Helping verb

The puppy has been adopted.

WHAT ARE ACTIVE AND PASSIVE VOICE?PASSIVE VOICEA verb in the passive voice does not have a direct object.

The puppy has been adopted.

Subject

The subject puppy receives the action.

Passive-voice verb

WHAT ARE ACTIVE AND PASSIVE VOICE?PASSIVE VOICESometimes a verb in the passive voice is followed by a prepositional phrase that begins with by and tells who or what performs the action.

His watch was repaired.

The prepositional phrase tells you that a jeweler performed the action of repairing.

by a jeweler.

Prepositional phrase

Passive-voice verb

WHAT ARE ACTIVE AND PASSIVE VOICE?PASSIVE VOICESometimes, a passive sentence does not indicate the performer of the action.

The Hoover Dam was built in the 1930s.

The performer of the action is not given.

Passive-voice verb

WHAT ARE ACTIVE AND PASSIVE VOICE?RETAINED OBJECTWhen a sentence in the active voice has both an indirect object and a direct object . . .

Ms. Cook gave each student a folder.

either object can become the subject when the sentence is put in the passive voice.

Indirect object

Active-voice verb

Direct object

Each student was given a folder (by Ms. Cook).

SubjectPassive-voice

verb

A folder was given to each student (by Ms. Cook).

SubjectPassive-voice

verb

When an active sentence with both a direct and an indirect object is put in the passive voice, the object that does not become the subject serves as the retained object.

WHAT ARE ACTIVE AND PASSIVE VOICE?RETAINED OBJECT

Ms. Cook gave each student a folder. Indirect object Direct object

Active voice

Each student was given a folder.

Subject Retained objectPassive voice

PHRASES AND CLAUSES A clause is a group of

related words containing a subject and a verb

Independent: A clause that can stand by itself and still make sense

Independent clauses are sometimes called essential or restrictive clauses

Dependent: A clause that cannot stand by itself. (frament)

Clause

EXAMPLES The internet on the

TV keeps stopping. The two best shows

on TV are NCIS and NCIS LA.

While she went home

Even though she knows the truth

Independent Dependent

INDEPENDENT CLAUSES CAN BE CONNECTED IN A VARIETY OF WAYS

By a comma and little conjunction (and, but, or, nor, for, yet, and sometimes so).

By a semicolon, by itself By a semicolon

accompanied by a conjunctive adverb (such as however, moreover, nevertheless, as a result, consequently, etc.).

She was tired, yet she decided to go swimming with her friends

Ethan likes milk; Emily likes water.

Dayana wants to get married on Saturday; therefore, I am planning her wedding.

TYPES OF CLAUSES ADVERB CLAUSES tend to tell us something about the sentence’s

main verb: when, why, under what conditions. Every adverb clause begins with a subordinate

conjunction. Adverb clauses must have a subject and a verb. If the sentence begins with an adverb clause, use a

comma after it.

Some examples of subordinate conjunctions would be when, since, before, although, until…

Adverb clauses modify the main verb in the sentence, adjectives and other adverbs.

EX: After Jubal Early invaded the outskirts of Washington, Congressional leaders took the southern threat more seriously

ADJECTIVE CLAUSES MODIFY NOUNS OR PRONOUNS IN THE REST OF THE SENTENCE..

The Internet, which started out as a means for military and academic types to share documents, has become a household necessity.

Tim Berners-Lee, who developed the World Wide Web, could never have foreseen the popularity of his invention

PHRASES One way to define a phrase is to say it is

a group of words that “belong together” in terms of meaning but do not have both a subject and a verb.

Phrase = a group of words that acts like one word

EX: the gym at the end of the street

It acts like a noun The gym at the end of the street is new.

PHRASES ARE BE CLASSIFIED BY THE TYPE OF HEAD THEY TAKE:

• Prepositional phrase with a preposition as head (e.g. in love, over the rainbow)

• Noun phrase with a noun as head (e.g. the black cat, a cat on the mat)

• Verb phrase with a verb as head (e.g. eat cheese, jump up and down)

• Adjectival phrase with an adjective as head (e.g. full of toys)

ABSOLUTE PHRASES Usually (but not always), an absolute

phrase is a group of words consisting of a noun or pronoun and a participle as well as any related modifiers.

Absolute phrases do not directly connect to or modify any specific word in the rest of the sentence; instead, they modify the entire sentence, adding information. They are always treated as parenthetical elements and are set off from the rest of the sentence with a comma or a pair of commas (sometimes by a dash or pair of dashes).

Absolute phrases contain a subject (which is often modified by a participle), but not a true verb.

ABSOLUTE PHRASES• The absolute phrase may appear at the

end of a sentence: The hunters rested for a moment in front of the shack, breaths gathering in the frosty air.

• The absolute phrase may also appear at the beginning of the sentence: Breaths gathering in the frosty air, the hunters rested for a moment in front of the shack.

And occasionally an absolute phrase is positioned between the subject and verb: * The hunters, breaths gathering in the frosty air, rested for a moment in front of the shack

KEITH POLETTE’S ELEVEN WAYS TO BEGIN A SENTENCE

Noun Rats peered from garbage cans.

Article + Noun The rats peered from garbage cans.

Adjective. + Noun Greedy rats peered from garbage cans.

Pronoun They peered from garbage cans.

Adverb Cautiously, rats peered from garbage cans.

Absolute Phrases Eyes wide, ears twitching, rats peered from garbage cans

Participle Phrases Munching on stale cheese, rats peered from garbage cans.

Prepositional Phrases Beneath the glow of a full moon, rats peered from garbage cans.

Infinitive Phrases To watch for prowling cats, rats peered from garbage cans.

Adverbial Clause As the half moon arose in the dingy sky like a hunk of rancid cheese, rats peered from garbage cans.

Implied Adjective Clause Suspicious of their surroundings, rats peered from garbage cans.