Final answer:
To find an adverbial phrase, locate the sentence's verb and ask questions like 'How?', 'When?', 'Where?', 'Why?', or 'To what extent?'. The answers highlight the adverbial phrase providing more information about the verb's action, condition, or circumstance in the sentence.
Step-by-step explanation:
To find an adverbial phrase in a sentence, we first need to identify the verb since adverbial phrases modify verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs. Once we've noted the verb, we can ask questions such as 'How?', 'When?', 'Where?', 'Why?', or 'To what extent?' The answers to these questions may reveal the adverbial phrase. By asking questions in conjunction with the sentence's verb, we can pinpoint adverbs and adverbial phrases that provide additional context.
Examples
Consider the sentence: 'We went to the bowling alley on Friday.' The main verb here is 'went'. Asking 'Where did we go?' helps us find the adverbial phrase 'to the bowling alley', and 'When did we go?' leads us to the adverbial of time 'on Friday'.
Another example is: 'Mr. Billingsworth laughed at the antics of the class clown.' The verb 'laughed' can be explored by asking, 'Why did Mr. Billingsworth laugh?' The answer, 'at the antics of the class clown', serves as an adverbial phrase explaining the reason.