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object of the preposition (see preposition)

participle and participial phrase (see verbals)

phrase A phrase is a group of words occurring in a meaningful sequence that lacks either a subject or a predicate. This absence distinguishes it from a clause, which contains both a subject and a predicate. Phrases function in sentences as adjectives, adverbs, nouns, or verbs. They are customarily classified according to the part of speech of their keyword: “over the mountain” is a prepositional phrase; “running for office” is a participial phrase; “had been disciplined” is a verb phrase; “desktop graphics” is a noun phrase; and so forth.

predicate The predicate contains the verb of a sentence or clause, making some kind of statement about the subject. The predicate of the preceding sentence is “contains the verb, making some kind of statement about the subject.” The simple predicate—the verb to which the other words in the sentence are attached—is “contains.”

preposition, prepositional phrase A preposition is a part of speech that links a noun or pronoun to some other word in the sentence. Prepositions usually express a relationship of time (after) or space (above) or direction (toward). The noun to which the preposition is attached is known as the object of the preposition. A preposition, its object, and any modifiers comprise a prepositional phrase. “With love from me to you” strings together three prepositional phrases. Here is a partial list of the most common prepositions: about, above, across, after, among, at, before, behind, between, by, during, for, from, in, into, like, of, on, out, over, since, through, to, toward, under, until, up, upon, with, within, and without.

pronoun A pronoun is a part of speech that substitutes for a noun, such as I, you, he, she, it, we, and they.

run-on (or fused) sentence A run-on sentence incorrectly combines two independent clauses with no conjunction or punctuation. See BWE 2.

sentence A sentence is a unit of expression that can stand independently. It contains two parts, a subject and a predicate. The shortest sentence in the Bible, for example, is “Jesus wept.” “Jesus” is the subject; “wept” is the predicate.

sentence fragment A sentence fragment is a group of words incorrectly punctuated like a complete sentence but lacking the necessary structure; it is only a part of a sentence. “Walking down the road” and “the origin of the problem” are both fragments because neither contains a predicate. See BWE 1.

subject The subject, in most cases a noun or pronoun, names the doer of the action in a sentence or identifies what the predicate is about. The subject of the previous sentence, for example, is “the subject, in most cases a noun or pronoun.” The simple subject of that sentence—the noun to which the other words in the sentence are attached—is “subject.”

subordination, subordinating conjunctions “Subordination” refers to the placement of certain grammatical units, particularly phrases and clauses, at a lower, less important structural level than other elements. As with coordination, the grammatical ranking carries conceptual significance as well: whatever is grammatically subordinated appears less important than the information carried in the main clause. In the following example, Microsoft is subordinated both grammatically and conceptually to Apple:

Although Microsoft continues to upgrade the operating system and special features on its computers, the more stylish and virusfree Apple MacIntosh computers continue to outclass them.

Here, “although” is a subordinating conjunction that introduces a subordinate clause, also known as a dependent clause.

verb A verb is a part of speech that describes an action (goes), states how something was affected by an action (became angered), or expresses a state of being (is).

verbals (participles, gerunds, and infinitives) Verbals are words derived from verbs. They are verb forms that look like verbs but, as determined by the structure of the sentence they appear in, they function as nouns,