Phrases

A phrase is two or more words that do not contain the subject-verbpair necessary to form a clause. Phrases can be very short or quite long. Here are two examples:

• After lunch
• After slithering down the stairs and across the road to scare nearly to death Mrs. Philpot busy pruning her rose bushes

• The ball is in your court.
• Let bygones be bygones.
• Hit the nail on the head.
• It takes two to tango.
• Hold your horses.
• Idle hands are the devil's tools.
• Wear your heart on your sleeve.
• Don't put all your eggs in one basket.
• Every cloud has a silver lining.
• Go down like a lead balloon.
• A picture paints a thousand words.
• Haste makes waste.
• Don't count your chickens before they hatch.
• A house divided against itself cannot stand.
• Go the extra mile.
• Blood is thicker than water.
• You can't take it with you.
• The bigger they are the harder they fall.
• When it rains, it pours.
• A penny saved is a penny earned.
• He lost his head.
• It's a small world.
• Great minds think alike.
• If it's not one thing, it's another.
• Elvis has left the building.
• Actions speak louder than words.
• Practice makes perfect.
• Keep your chin up.
• Let sleeping dogs lie.
• Never bite the hand that feeds you.
• You can't judge a book by its cover.
• Drastic times call for drastic measures.
• Lend me your ear.
• Practice makes perfect.
• Rise and shine.
• You are what you eat.
• Let the cat out of the bag.
• Mum's the word.
• A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.
• Your guess is as good as mine.
• Rome was not built in one day. 
• A fool and his money are easily parted.
• A cat that refused to meow.

• The shoplifted pair of jeans- The shoplifted pair of jeans caused Nathaniel so much guilt that he couldn't wear them.
• Had cleaned - Mom had just cleaned the refrigerator shelves when Lawrence knocked over the pitcher of orange juice.
• Should have been writing - Sarah should have been writing her research essay, but she couldn't resist another short chapter in her Stephen King novel.
• Must wash - If guests are coming for dinner, we must wash our smelly dog!

Read these examples:

The spider above the kitchen sink has just caught a fat fly.

Which spider? The one above the kitchen sink!

The librarian at the check-out desk smiles whenever she collects a late fee.

Which librarian? The one at the check-out desk!

The vegetables on Noel's plate lay untouched the entire meal.

Which vegetables? The ones on Noel's plate!

As an adverb, a prepositional phrase will answer questions such as How? When? or Where?

While sitting in the cafeteria, Jack catapulted peas with a spoon.

How did Jack launch those peas? With a spoon!

After breakfast, we piled the dirty dishes in the sink.

When did we ignore the dirty dishes? After breakfast!

Amber finally found the umbrella wedgedunder the passenger's front seat.

Where did Amber locate the umbrella? Under the passenger's front seat!