Question

practice a identifying varied sentence beginnings
read each sentence. circle the sentence beginning. then, on the line provided, identify the part of
speech or type of phrase used to start the sentence.
example: until yesterday, i had never been to a sushi bar.
answer: until yesterday i had never been to a sushi bar. prepositional phrase

1. during the summer, i learned to water-ski.
2. to earn spending money, nadine walks the neighbors dog.
3. carefully, laura set the crystal vase on the shelf.
4. chicken and dumplings is my mothers specialty.
5. distracted by the kittens, the toddler forgot about his broken toy.
6. cars cannot travel beyond this gate.
7. forgetting that it was saturday, sean got dressed for school.
8. after the game, we will stop at the bank.
9. to be out of the woods before dark, we had to leave immediately.

Explanation:

1. "During the summer" is a prepositional phrase (starts with a preposition "during" and has a noun phrase "the summer").
2. "To earn spending money" is an infinitive phrase (starts with "to" + verb "earn").
3. "Carefully" is an adverb (modifies the verb "set").
4. "Chicken and dumplings" is a noun phrase (the subject of the sentence).
5. "Distracted by the kittens" is a participial phrase (starts with a past participle "distracted").
6. "Cars" is a noun (the subject of the sentence).
7. "Forgetting that it was Saturday" is a gerund phrase (starts with a gerund "forgetting").
8. "After the game" is a prepositional phrase (starts with a preposition "after" and has a noun phrase "the game").
9. "To be out of the woods before dark" is an infinitive phrase (starts with "to" + verb "be").

Answer:

1. prepositional phrase
2. infinitive phrase
3. adverb
4. noun phrase
5. participial phrase
6. noun
7. gerund phrase
8. prepositional phrase
9. infinitive phrase