Explanatory Phrases, Participle Phrases, and Major Prepositional Phrases

A general rule that is posited for punctuating both types of subordinate clauses: (1) that and which clauses and (2) adverb (and adjective) clauses. This chapter discusses the explanatory phrases, participle phrases, and major prepositional phrases. It then provides examples in the context of where the phrases are likely to appear within a sentence - that is, before the core, within the core, and following the core. Eventually, within this structure, the general rule established for subordinate clauses is shown to be applied when these phrases are used as qualifiers. Explanatory phrases are used to restate, define, explain, elaborate, or provide examples for a noun that usually appears immediately before the explanatory phrase. More often than not, participle phrases modify nouns - that is, they function as adjectives. Due to their length or their position within the sentence, some prepositional phrases can behave as major qualifiers.