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Joke # 10: Terror
Answer Key for Level 1: Prepositional Phrases
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Current technology makes it extremely difficult to draw lines, etc. from word to word in web documents. In Level One, I have therefore indicated words modified by prepositional phrases in following brackets. These brackets will be deleted in the answer keys to subsequent levels.

     A man was walking home alone late one night when he hears a . . .
BUMP . . .

BUMP . . .

BUMP . . . {behind him} [Adverb to "hears" or Adjective to "BUMP"].

Walking faster he looks back, and makes out [Note #1] the image {of an 

upright coffin} [Adjective to "image"] banging its way {down the middle} 

[Adverb to "banging" or Adjective to "way"] {of the street} [Adjective to "way"] 

{towards him} [Adverb to "banging" or Adjective to "way"].

BUMP . . .

BUMP . . .

BUMP . . .

Terrified, the man begins to run {towards his home} [Adverb to "to run"], 

the coffin bouncing quickly {behind him}  [Adverb to "bouncing"] . . .

faster . . .

faster . . .

BUMP . . .

BUMP . . .

BUMP . . .

He runs {up to his door} [Adverb to "runs"], fumbles {with his keys} [Adverb

to "fumbles"], opens the door, rushes in [Note #2], slams and locks the door 

{behind him} [Adverb to "locks" or Adjective to "door"].

     However, the coffin crashes {through his door} [Adverb to "crashes"], 

{with the lid} [Adverb to "crashes" Note # 3] (of the coffin} [Adjective to "lid"] clapping . . .

clappity-BUMP . . .

clappity-BUMP . . .

clappity-BUMP . . .

{on the heels} [Adverb to "clapping"] {of the terrified man} [Adjective to "heels"].

      Rushing upstairs {to the bathroom} [Adverb to "Rushing"], the man locks 

himself in. His heart is pounding; his head is reeling; his breath is coming 

{in sobbing gasps} [Adverb to "is coming"]. {With a loud CRASH} [Adverb to 

"starts breaking down"] the coffin starts breaking down the door, bumping 

and clapping {towards him} [Adverb to "bumping" and "clapping"]. The man 

screams and reaches {for something heavy [Note #4]} [Adverb to "reaches"], 

anything . . . his hand comes to rest {on a large bottle} [Adverb to "to rest"] 

{of Robitussin} [Adjective to "bottle"].

     Desperate, he throws the Robitussin as hard as he can {at the 

apparition} [Adverb to "throws"] . . .

and

. . . the coffin stops!

Notes

1. "Makes out" means "sees." "Out the image" is not a prepositional phrase.
2. Students will either ignore or be puzzled by "in" in "rushes in." In Level 1A, I will consider it as an adverb, but it can also be considered as a preposition, the object and part of which is ellipsed -- "rushes in*to his home*." The same applies later in "locks himself in," except that in this case the context indicates that it means "in his bathroom."
3. It is not, of course, simply "with the lid" that modifies "crashing." "With the lid" is the beginning of the longer phrase "with the lid of the coffin clapping . . . ." For more on this, see Level 5.
4. I have included "heavy" in the phrase because experience suggests that that is how most students will see it. In Level 5 we will revisit it to see that it functions as a Post-Positioned Adjective, i.e., it means "for something *that was* heavy."
 
 
Progress:
Total Words = 190 Words %
L1: In Prep Phrases  68 36 % 

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