Phrases and Clauses

Example:
has been sleeping

Clause

group of related words

has at least one subject (noun) and one verb

(action)

TYPES OF CLAUSES
Independent Clause

can stand as a sentence all by itself

also sometimes called a main clause

tells a complete thought or idea

Dependent Clause

cannot stand on its own

not a complete thought or idea

also called subordinate clauses

Explanation:
It could be used in the sentence I want to play with Joe
but he has been sleeping all day.

TYPES OF PHRASES
Prepositional Phrase

made up of a preposition, noun or pronoun, and

often an adjective

Usually a prepositional phrase tells the reader

where or when the action is occurring

Example:
in 30 minutes
Explanation:
It could be used in the sentence I am going out in 30
minutes
Adjective Phrase

The job of an adjective phrase is to describe the

noun in the sentence.

This group of words may, or may not actually

contain an adjective.

It gets its name by its job of describing the

subject.

Phrase

group of related words

does not include a noun and a verb

does not tell a complete thought and therefore

cannot be complete sentences on their own

TYPES OF PHRASES
Noun Phrase

Example:
the very angry dog.
Explanation:
It could be used in the sentence When I walked to school
I stayed away from the very angry dog.

made up of a noun and any words that are being

used to describe it
Combining Sentences

Example:
red dress
Explanation:
It could be used in the sentence The girl wore a red
dress.
Verb Phrase

made up of a main verb and its helping verbs

Helping verbs are also called auxiliaries.

Auxiliaries include is, are, has, have, been, and
should.

When we combine sentences, we are taking two

sentences that can stand on their own and bringing them
together. The sentences being combined are referred to
as independent clauses. They can each stand on their
own, independently, their content is related and thus they
can be combined.
Most often, independent clauses are joined
by coordinating conjunctions. These are small, but
powerful, connecting words

Use But/And/Or/So to Connect Ideas

And, But

The subject I is doing the action which is love, to the

object, mother.

And - link the independent clauses together

But - it links and establishes a link between the ideas

The passive voice switches things in the sentence

around. The passive voice moves the target of the
action, or the object, to the front of the sentence making it
the subject. The focus is more on the action and who
exactly did the action is not really important.

Example:

Susan was a well trained dancer and she was a

graceful girl by nature.
Susan was a well trained dancer but, she was
not chosen to perform in the recital.

Example:
Active:
John drives the car.

Explanation:
As you can see the first statement simply puts out two
facts about the Susan. In the second example, a link is
made between Susan being a trained dancer and not
performing in a recital.

I love my mother.

Or, So

Explanation:

Or - presents a scenario where a choice is being made

between the two independent clauses

You can see in these two examples that the subject is no

longer John or me. The subject is the car or my
mother. The passive voice refocuses the sentence and
makes the object the subject.

So - give a reason or rationale for the two clauses to be

linked

Passive:
The car is driven by John.
My mother is loved by me.

Example:

Susan will eat pie or ice cream for dessert.

Example:

Susan was a well-trained dancer so she

auditioned for the recital.

Active: I drove the car to the house.

Passive: The car was driven to the house by me.

Using Passive Voice

Active Voice versus Passive Voice
The active voice is an active sentence, the subject is
doing the action.
Example:
John drives the car.

Explanation:
Some people think that using the passive voice can be
wrong, however this is incorrect. It's just often not the
best way to express yourself and your thoughts. It can
sometimes sound awkward and often lacks information.
Lastly, as you can tell by the examples, the passive voice
often results in a longer sentence which can make you
sound more wordy.

Explanation:
John is the subject and his action is driving the car, the
object.
Example:
I love my mother.
Explanation:

Uses of the Passive Voice

1. The objects are commonly dropped.
When speaking in the passive voice it is also common to
the drop the object at the end. We dropped the objects
which often is the reason why the passive voice usually
sounds more vague.

Example:

In this case, you are requesting someone to do as you

say.

The car was driven. Who drove the car?

My mother is loved. Who loves my mother?
2. The passive voice can be vague.

Use of Prepositions

The person responsible for the action is more obscure

and hidden. However, the passive voice isn't all bad and
sometimes we are forced to use it.

Prepositions are words that show direction, location or

time. It is also important to use prepositions such
as in, on, after, before, or between to make
the instructions more accurate.

Example:
Examples
When speaking about things that are not fully known like
in a robbery case. The police might say, The store was
robbed. They do not know who did it.

A: How do I get to the bank?

3. The passive voice can sometimes bring things

across more politely.

B: Go straight along First Avenue, then turn left *along**

Third Avenue.** At the end** of the street, youll see the
bank between the pharmacy and the clinic.*

Example:

Explanation:

A mistake was made. If you are sitting in a room with a

bunch of colleagues and you know you made the
mistake, you will thank your boss for not using your
name.

There are three prepositions used in the example so the

directions will be accurate.

Giving Information and Making Explanations

Information
Use Imperatives and Prepositions When Giving
Instructions
Imperative Sentences

Sentences that provide information are usually used to

answer questions such as what, when, where, how many,
or how much.

It is used in giving a command or an instruction,

expressing hope or a wish, as well as in requesting.

Example:

Example:

A: What was she doing when the bell rang?

Have a nice day!

B: She was putting her notebook inside her bag.

Explanation:

Explanation:

In this case, you are not giving a command, but hoping

that someone enjoys the day.

In this sentence, information on the action (putting the

notebook) was given as an answer to the question.

Example:
Turn left on Quezon Avenue.
Explanation:
In this case, you are giving someone instructions.

Explanations
Explanations are given to tell someone how to do
something, to give a reason, or to let someone know what
is happening.

Example:
Example:
Kindly fill out the information sheet and wait for your turn.
I did not go to school because I was sick.
Explanation:

Explanation:
In this sentence, it was explained why the subject (I) did
not go to school. In answering why questions, we
usually use because before the explanation.
Example:
If you want to go to the zoo, you have to take the yellow
bus.
Explanation:

why the event was held.

b. Why did he/she do it? This explains a persons
motive, behavior, and thoughts.
How - Raising this question, you will be able to know the
following:
a. How did it happen? This will provide you the
information needed in terms of process or manner as to a
certain matter took place.
b. How was the event? This will help you assess the
quality or condition of particular situation or issue.

In this sentence, an explanation was given on how to go

to the zoo.
Example:
You should go home immediately after school. It looks
like it is going to rain.
Explanation:
In this sentence, the rain was given as an explanation of
the action to be done (go home immediately).

Example:

Who invented the incandescent light? Thomas

Alva Edison

Where did Edison create incandescent light?

Menlo Park, New Jersey

When did Edison build the incandescent light?

December 31, 1879

What did Edison achieve with this invention?

Thomas Alva Edison gained the reputation of
being a persevering and innovative inventor.

Why did Edison invent the incandescent light?

Provide cheaper source of light and electricity

How does this invention work? - Incandescent

lights work by sending electric current through a
resistive material.

Formulating Questions
Wh Questions
Wh Questions are also called Interrogative Pronouns.
Interrogative Pronouns are used to ask questions. An
Interrogative Pronoun represents the thing which the
question is about.
Who By asking this question, you will be able to know
the following:
a. Who are the people or character involved?
b. Who is the subject of the story?
Where When posting this question, you will be able to
know the following:
a. Where did it happen?
b. Where is the place of event or incident?
c. Where is the location of the scene?
When Using this question, you will be able to know the
following:
a. When did it happen?
b. What time, period, or era did it occur?
What Posing this question, you will be able to know:
a. What happened? This will provide you the
information needed by specifying something.
Why Stating this question, you will be able to know the
following:
a. Why did it happen? - This will provide you the reason

Tag Questions and Short Replies

Tag Question
A question added to a declarative sentence, usually at the
end, to engage the listener, verify that something has
been understood, or confirm that an action has occurred.
Formulating Tag Questions
Tag questions follow either of these patterns:
positive statement + helping verb + n't + subject or
negative statement + helping verb + subject.
Note that the subject of the tag question is a pronoun
instead of repeating the noun used in the statement.
Examples

Your name is Jenny, isn't it?

Your name isn't Jenny, is it?

Mara has been there before, hasn't she?

Mara hasn't been there before, has she?

When answering tag questions, remember that you have

to give the true answers, no matter what the form of the
tag question is used and even if the answer isn't the one
expected.
Your name is Jenny, isn't it?
Yes, it is.
Your name isn't Jenny, isn't it? No, it isn't. My name's
Geri.
Mara has been there before, hasn't she?
Yes, she has.
Mara hasn't been there before, has she?
No, she hasn't.

When answering yes/no questions, answer with the verb

that starts the question. (This is 'be' verb or a helping
verb.) The answer follows this pattern:

know. You may also choose to say I'll have to think

about that or I haven't really thought about that yet.
Example
Would you like to be a doctor someday, like your father?

I don't know.

I'll have to think about that.

I haven't really thought about that yet.

Best Response to Information Questions

Answering Questions
When you are answering questions about a report or
presentation, it is important to respond appropriately.
Confirm that you understood the meaning of the
question
There are two basic ways to do this. The first is to repeat
the question. A good way to do this is to start
with the phrase, You would like to know? You can also
paraphrase the question before answering. Examples of
both of these techniques are:
Example:
What is the temperature outside today?

Yes + pronoun + helping verb for affirmative answers

No + pronoun + helping verb + n't/not for negative
answers.
Examples:

Repeat the question: You would like to know the

temperature? It is 25 degrees.
Paraphrase the question: The temperature outside? It is
25 degrees.

Is your father around?

Yes, he is.
No, he isn't.
Can he go out?
Yes, he can.
No, he can't.

Another way to confirm that you understood the question

is to include part of the question in the answer. This way
the listener knows that you understood the
meaning of the question correctly. If there are other
people in a group, they also can clearly hear and know
what your answer refers to, since they might not
have heard the original question.

Note that when the person uses you in the question, you
need to change it to I or we.

Example:

Have you eaten?

What is the temperature outside today?

Yes, I have./Yes, we have.

No, I haven't./No, we haven't.

Part of the question in the answer: The temperature

outside is 25 degrees.

Now, if you were asked a question that you don't know

the answer to, you can be honest and just say I don't

When you answer a question, be polite

When you do not have to answer every question, just
say so
You can apologize politely.
Example:
You can say, That is a good question. I am sorry, but I
dont know the answer.
Never make up an answer, because there could be
problems later if you were wrong.
If you are not positive about an answer, you can answer,
but let the person know that there is a chance the
answer may be wrong. Use words like maybe
or about. You can start with, Im
not sure but.

Thank the person for their interest. You can say, That is a
good question, or Thank you for your question, then
answer it. Even if the question has something that makes
you angry, or is not related to your topic, thank the person
and move on.
Example:
That is a good question. However, I do not know the
answer.
When someone asks a question, you should answer
politely and clearly. Repeat the question, thank the
person for it, and do your best to give correct information.