OTHER PHRASES: VERBAL, APPOSITIVE, ABSOLUTE

A phrase is a group of words that lacks a subject, a predicate (动词), or both. 的 English language is full of them: 在他的监督下, 开花的苹果树, having completed the soccer season. You are probably familiar with prepositional 短语--they begin with prepositions, 以名词(或代词)结尾, 他们描述了, 或修改, a particular word in the sentence: 沿着亚希小径, 鲑鱼洞以上. (For more, see the TIP Sheet "介词 和 Prepositional Phrases.") But other kinds of 短语 also enrich the English language: 口头, 同位语, 绝对 短语.

1. 动词是类似动词的.
A 口头 looks like a 动词 but does not act like a 动词. In the following sentences, 口头s are used as something other than 动词s:

攀爬 El Capitan 是 out of the question. (Noun 和 subject of the sentence)
的 鼓掌 人群站了起来. (形容词)
我鄙视 冻 豌豆. (形容词)
他计划 研究 农业科学. (名词和直接宾语). 

的re are three kinds of 口头s:

• Gerunds (ing forms that function as nouns)
• Participles (present or past participle 动词 forms that function as 形容词s)
• Infinitives (the root form of a 动词 preceded by to; it can function as a noun, 形容词, 或副词)

动名词短语是名词.
A 动名词 是一个 ing 动词 form that actually functions as a noun. 任何 ing 动词 used in the predicate (part of the 动词) of a sentence must be accompanied by a helper 动词 such as is, 是, or 一直; a 动名词 lacks this helper. As a result, a 动名词 can never function as a 动词, but it can do anything another noun can do. For example, the following 动名词 phrase is the subject of a sentence:

徒步旅行 in Little Yosemite Valley 是 unforgettable.

This one-word 动名词 is the direct object of an action 动词:

汤姆解释 用绳索下降 我们爬上了半圆顶.

Gerunds can be predicate nominatives after linking 动词s (careful! 的 动词 of the sentence below is 是,而不是 是跌倒. 的 adventure 是 not, itself, 步履蹒跚的! 的 favorite adventure 是 our act of 步履蹒跚的.):

我们最喜欢的冒险是 步履蹒跚的 upon Frog Pond deep in the forest.

的 following 动名词 phrase is the object of a preposition:

我们担心的是 被 swept away over the waterfall as we swam.

Participial 短语 are 形容词s.
分词的恒性--words or 短语--are 形容词s. 的y look like present participle (ing)或过去分词(-ed or -en)动词形式. A past participle 动词 used in the predicate of a sentence must be accompanied by a helper 动词 such as 有, 有, or 有; participles or participial 短语 functioning as 形容词s lack this helper. 的 following participial phrase describes the noun 熊:

发低沉的咕噜声 和 抽着鼻子的 地, the 熊 reached on tiptoe for our 暂停 食物袋.

上图中, 暂停 is a past participle form functioning as an 形容词. 下面, 冻 和 使 introduce participial 短语:

冻 在期待,我们的 低沉的 呼吸 使 几乎没有声音, we watched the 熊 ascend the tree toward the ropes.

在期待中凝固 修饰代词 we. 几乎没有声音，另一方面，修饰 呼吸. 低沉的 is a participial 形容词 also describing 呼吸.

Infinitive 短语 are nouns, 形容词s, or ad动词s.
An infinitive is the root, or simple, form of a 动词 preceded by to: 期待, 招收, to 想到. (因为 to 是一个常见的介词吗, infinitives are often mistaken for prepositional 短语, 但事实并非如此. For more information, see TIP Sheet "介词 和 Prepositional Phrases.") Infinitives are easy to recognize, with their to + 动词 模式. 的y can play many roles in a sentence--noun, 形容词, or ad动词.

在以下示例中, infinitive 短语 are used as nouns--in this case subject 和 direct object, 分别为:

看 the 熊 toss our things around 是痛苦的.
我们尝试 信号 our friends on Half Dome with a text message，但失败了.

 On the other h和, the following infinitive phrase is used as an 形容词 to modify plans:

我们的计划 继续 去图奥伦草地 changed suddenly once we lost our food supplies.

的 following infinitive 是一个 ad动词 phrase modifying the 动词 将使用 副词回答问题 当, 在哪里, 如何, 为什么):

下一次, 为了防止 我们失去了食物储备, we 将使用 熊 canisters instead.

(Note: Some 动词s require an infinitive [声称知道] 和 some require a 动名词 [避免说]. And some 动词s differ dramatically in meaning if you switch from 动名词 to infinitive [停止吸烟, 停止吸烟]).

2. 同位语是名词.
An 同位语 is a noun phrase that renames or restates the preceding noun or pronoun:

不可抗拒的 香味, 开花的苹果树, drifted through the open window.

Appositive 短语 are almost always punctuated as parenthetical elements of a sentence set off by commas. An exception is a one-word 同位语, 在哪里 commas are unnecessary:

My 哥哥 约瑟夫 reads six or seven blogs a day.

3. Absolute 短语 modify 绝对ly everything.
不像其他修饰语， 绝对的短语 do not modify a particular word in a sentence; rather, they modify the 整个 sentence--setting the scene or background overall, so to speak. An 绝对 phrase typically consists of a noun (or pronoun) 和 a participle (see "Participial 短语,“以上): umbrellas tossing in the wind, 他的希望终于破灭了. 在以下示例中,而不是ice that the 绝对的短语 cannot logically be said to modify any particular word of the main clause:

Umbrellas tossing in the wind, the students at the bus stop huddled under the scant shelter of the elms.
Rodrigo unhappily prepared to vacate 和 sell his dream home, his hopes for a reconciliation dashed at last.

Like 同位语s, 绝对的短语 are set off from the rest of the sentence by commas.