Phrases & Verbals

A phrase is a group of words that work together as one part of a sentence.

1. 1 Prepositional phrase a preposition and its object
2. 2 Participle a verb form that describes
3. 3 Infinitive 'to' plus a verb

A prepositional phrase begins with a preposition (in, on, under, with, before) and ends with a noun or pronoun called the object of the preposition. The whole group works together as one part of the sentence.

A participle is a verb form used as an adjective. Present participles end in -ing (the running water); past participles often end in -ed (the baked cake). It describes a noun, just like an adjective.

An infinitive is the base form of a verb, usually the word to plus a verb (to play, to read). It is a verb form, but it often acts as a noun, naming an action: she loves to read.