Participle phrase & infinitive phrase

Sentence

  • a grammatically complete thought
    • grammatically complete = contains a finite verb (subject-verb)
    • logically complete = does not need more information to complete the thought

Finite and Non-Finite Verbs & their complements

Non-finite verbs & complements

  • "complements" are words or phrases that "complement" or "go along with" a subject or verb
  • verbs have complements in the forms of
    • objects
    • adverbs
    • prepositional phrases
    • dependent or "subordinate" clauses
  • the idea is the the "verb complement" adds information to the predicate (which is the verb and its complements)

Finite & Non-Finite verbs and complements

Participle

(non-finite verb)

Participle

Complement

Subject Verb Complements Participle

(non-finite verb)

Participle

Complement

(The) student reads a textbook on his own
(The) student reads a textbook on his own to learn more effectively
(The) student reads a textbook on his own , learning more effectively
To learn more effectively (the) student reads a textbook on his own
Reading a textbook on his own (the) student learns more effectively
(The) student learns on his own reading after school
(The) student learns after school reading on his own


Examples of participle phrase placement

  • participle = the -ing or -ed forms of a verb
    • participles may serve as finite (take a subject) or non-finite (no subject)
    • finite forms of participles are
      • -ing present participle = present continuous tense
        • It is snowing'; They are playing
      • -ed past participle = simple past tense
        • It snowed'; They played
    • non-finite forms of participles are
      • -ing present participle adjective
        • Snowing all day, the car was buried'; The boys playing around got in trouble
      • -ing "gerund" (present participle noun)
        • Snowing out makes me happy; Playing in the show is fun
      • -ed past participle adjective
        • The snowed in car was stuck'; The team played
  • participle phrase
    • a participle phrase is two or more words that have a non-finite verb (i.e., no subject)
    • (note: if a finite verb is present (subject-verb), it is a clause)
      • participle phrases add information to another word or clause
      • ex.>:
        • present participle phrase: Playing hard, they lost anyway
        • past participle phrase: Played poorly, they lost the game

Participle phrase example 1

  • Sentence:

Students read the textbook studying for the test

  • Grammatical forms:
  • Parts of speech:

Participle phrase example 2

  • Sentence:

Studying for the test, students read the textbook

  • Grammatical forms:
  • Parts of speech:

Participle phrase example 3

  • Sentence:

Students studying for the test read the textbook

  • Grammatical forms:
  • Parts of speech: