In the following sentence, what kind of phrase is “Moving away”?
“Moving away made my little cousin sad.”
A. prepositional
B. gerund
C. infinitive
D. participial
To determine the kind of phrase "Moving away" is in the given sentence, we need to understand the different types of phrases and look for their characteristics.
A prepositional phrase begins with a preposition (e.g., in, on, at) and includes a noun or pronoun called the object of the preposition. The phrase in question does not start with a preposition, so it is not a prepositional phrase.
A gerund phrase is a group of words that begins with a gerund (a verb ending in "-ing" used as a noun). In this sentence, "Moving" is a gerund, but it is not a phrase since it is not accompanied by any other words. Therefore, "Moving away" is not a gerund phrase.
An infinitive phrase consists of an infinitive (the base form of a verb preceded by the particle "to") and any objects or modifiers. In this sentence, there is no "to" before "Moving away," so it is not an infinitive phrase.
A participial phrase starts with a participle (a verb form that functions as an adjective) and includes any objects or modifiers. In the given sentence, "Moving" is a present participle, and "away" functions as an adverb modifying the participle. Therefore, "Moving away" is a participial phrase.
So, the correct answer is D. participial.