ADJECTIVE & ADVERB
PHRASES

Taking a basic modifier and
expanding it

Adjective Phrases

Adjective phrases are prepositional phrases

that act as adjectives, and as you

SHOULD

know, an adjective describes

nouns and pronouns and answers the
questions: which one(s), how many, what
kind. Adjective phrases are also found
next to the noun/pronoun it describes. (If
it didn’t, the phrase would be misplaced,
and that’s another lesson!)

Examples



The girl went home.

Insert a prepositional phrase that

would answer an adjective question.

Adjectives describe nouns. What are

the two nouns in the sentence?

The prepositional phrase will come

after the noun it describes.

What did you get?

Examples



Marcy spilled a

gallon

of bleach

.



A

reporter

from the New York Times

questioned the governor.



The puppy hid when he heard a

clap

of

thunder

.



The disc jockey played a new

hit

by George

Strait.



The fisherman caught a

fish

with purple

stripes

.



The

packages

in the closet

are Lynn’s

birthday gift.

Create Sentences

Create three sentences using these

prepositional phrases.

with the hurt foot
under the table
in the garden

Adverb Phrases

Adverb phrases are prepositional phrases

that act as adverbs, and as you

SHOULD

know, an adverb describes verbs,
adverbs, and adjectives and answers the
questions: how, when, where, how often,
why, to what extent. Adverb phrases can
be found anywhere – the beginning, end,
or next to the word described. Again,
start with the verb and ask,

“How,

When, Where?”

Examples



The girl

waved

(where?)

to us

.



Marcy

spilled

bleach

(where?)

on the

floor

.



I like to wake up

early

(when?)

in the

morning

.



The puppy

hid

(where?)

under the

table

.



After graduation

we

will go

(when &

where?)

to the restaurant.



The packages

are

(where?)

in the

closet

.

Your Turn

Write sentences with these

prepositional phrases as adverb
phrases.

under the table
in the garden
to the city

So Now What??

How to find the phrase? Elimination.

Prepositional phrases are not essential to

a sentence; they can be removed. Find

your subject, verb, and complements.

Find single adjectives and adverbs, too.

What do you have left? Phrases and

subordinate clauses. The difference

between the two – phrases don’t have

verbs! Prepositional phrases begin with a

preposition and end with a

NOUN-THE

OBJECT OF THE PREPOSITION!

Prepositional Phrases, Not
Verbals

For right now you should know what a

prepositional phrase is or how it looks. It

begins with a preposition and ends with a

noun.

A

VERBAL

(haven’t gotten there yet) begins

with the word

TO

and has a

VERB

that

follows it:

to eat, to sleep, to study,

etc.

Verbals, however, are NOT verbs.
What I’m trying to say is this: Don’t mistake

the two.

The packages in the closet are…
The packages are in the closet.

Are those phrases in the same place? That

probably means they’re different!

Which one is the adjective phrase, and

which one is the adverb phrase?