|
Finding Prepositional Phrases
Practice Exercise # 9
Directions: Place parentheses ( ) around every prepositional
phrase.
| The text is: |
| A ten-year-old, under the tutelage
of her grandmother, was becoming quite knowledgeable about the Bible. Then
one day she floored her grandmother by asking, "Which virgin was the mother
of Jesus? The virgin Mary or the King James virgin?" |
| Work your way through the text one sentence
at a time. |
Sentence #1
| Identify all the prepositional phrases. |
| A ten-year-old, (under
the tutelage) (of her grandmother), was becoming quite knowledgeable
(about the Bible). |
Sentence #2
| Identify all the prepositional phrases. |
| Then one day she floored her grandmother (by
asking), "Which virgin was the mother (of
Jesus)? |
| The preceding is the way I would analyze the
sentence in my own work, but I can see some people wanting to include the
object of "asking" in the phrase. This would give them: |
| Then one day she floored her grandmother (by
asking, "Which virgin was the mother (of
Jesus)?) |
| This version is probably closer to how the
mind actually processes the sentence, but I find that keeping the "( )"
closer together keeps the structure clearer in my own mind. |
Sentence #3
| Identify all the prepositional phrases. |
| The virgin Mary or the King James virgin?" |
| There are none. |
|