KISS Level 2.2.2 - Preposition
or Subordinate Conjunction?
Most grammar textbooks give students sanitized,
simplistic sentences for exercises. Thus in an exercise on prepositional
phrases (if they ever get to prepositional phrases), these textbooks will
not include in an exercise a sentence in which "after" is used as a subordinate
conjunction. Similarly, in an exercise on subordinate clauses, they will
not use "after" as a preposition. In learning to deal with real texts,
however, students need to learn to make the distinction. At this level,
students need simply learn that if whatever answers the question "What?"
after a "preposition" is a sentence, then the construction is not a prepositional
phrase. You can tell them that it is a subordinate clause, and that they
will learn more about subordinate clauses in KISS Level Three, but the
focus at this point should be on their ability to identify the prepositional
phrases.
Suggested Directions for Analytical Exercises
1. Place parentheses ( ) around each prepositional phrase.
2. Underline every finite verb twice, its subject(s) once, and label
any complements (“PA,” “PN,” “IO,” or “DO”). |
Probable Time Required
You can skip this altogether, or you might
prefer to show your students one exercise, or you can have them do two
or more exercises. |
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