Prepositional Phrases as Adjectives and Adverbs
Prepositional Phrases as Adjectives and Adverbs
Prepositional phrases are phrases that are headed by prepositions. They are made up of at least a preposition and a noun or nominal elements—elements that function as nouns irrespective of their lexical categories.
Phrases are words or group of words that work together, functioning as word classes. For instance, noun phrases will function as nouns in sentences. They are made up of at least a Headword, or a headword, modifier, and qualifier element. The headword is what determines the lexical category which the phrase will be named after. For example, a preposition is the headword of a phrase made up of a preposition and nominal elements, hence the phrase is termed prepositional phrase.
Prepositional phrases perform a number of functions in sentences based on their placements in them, and that forms the basis for this blog post. They can function, in sentences, as either adjectives or adverbs depending exclusively on their placements in sentences.
Prepositional phrases are said to function as Adjectives whenever they are placed directly after the subject of a sentence before the finite verb. When a prepositional phrase is placed directly after a noun phrase in the subject position of a sentence, it tends to function as an adjective, modifying the noun phrase—subject.
Adjectives serve the purpose of qualifying or modifying nouns in a sentence depending on their placements in it. For instance, an adjective is said to modify a noun or noun phrase when it is placed directly before or after the nominal element, while it is said to qualify the nominal element when it appears right after a linking verb.
When prepositional phrases appear right after a noun phrase in a sentence, they are said to function as qualifier elements of the noun phrase. Take for instance;
The boy + in the garden + is here.
By placing the prepositional phrase, in the garden, right after the noun phrase, the boy, the prepositional phrase then fuses with the noun phrase to function as the qualifier element of the phrase. This is because the noun phrase in question is made up of only a modifier, "The", and a headword, "boy", so placing a prepositional phrase directly after the phrase automatically makes it a qualifier element of the noun phrase.
Remember, the formula of a phrase is, (M)H(Q)—Modifier, Headword, and Qualifier.
Other examples of prepositional phrases functioning as adjectives in a sentence include;
1. The book beside the window is wet.
2. The shadow behind him is small.
3. The bucket on the ceiling is filled.
4. The partnership of both companies is over.
5. The truth about the matter is touching.
Note: Anytime a prepositional phrase appears right after a noun phrase in any position, it usually forms the qualifier element of the noun phrase.
Prepositional phrases can function as adverbs whenever they appear right after a verb in a sentence. You must already know that adverbs are words or group of words that serve the purpose of modifying a verb, an adjective, and even another adverb. Hence, a prepositional phrase can function as an adverb when it appears directly after the finite verb of a sentence, in which case it functions as an adverb modifying the verb.
Take for instance;
1. The girls are going + on a mission.
When the prepositional phrase, "on a mission" is placed directly after the verb phrase, "are going", it automatically assumes the function of an adverb which in this case, it gives circumstantial information about where the girls are going. Since adverbs answer the questions: where, when, why, etc, prepositional phrases functioning as adverbs perform the same functions. Other examples of prepositional phrases as adverbs include the following;
1. She works around the clock.
2. She lives down the road.
3. They played around the clock.
4. John cooks for a living.
5. The teacher teaches over a cup of tea.
There are exceptions to the rule, however, as there are instances when a word is slotted between the verb or verbal elements in a sentence, and a prepositional phrase. The best step to take in such instance is to examine the function of the prepositional phrase in the sentence before arriving at a conclusion. Take for instance;
1. The school boys played football around the clock.
The slotting of, "football", between the verb "played", and the prepositional phrase, "around the clock", may give the impression that the prepositional phrase functions as an adjective modifying the noun, "football". However, a close observation of the phrase will reveal that it functions as an adverb, answering the question—when did they play?
So each time you are faced with determining the function of a prepositional phrase in a sentence, whether as Adjective or Adverb, simply look closely at the function it performs in the sentence to determine its function.
Related posts:
Comments
Post a Comment