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The 1986 Study

Record Number: W4N03

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.

     The worst Day {of my life} [Adjective to "day"] is When I 

had a birthday and My Sister seemed to be the birthday girl. 

I know this isn't very bad but I can't think {of anything} 

[Adverb to "think"] Note #1 that was worst now I will finish my 

story. So me and my friend Went upstairs and put

together my present that I got {from dad} [Adverb to "got"]

My dad and mom helped me put together my present. 

After Note #2 everybody went home I was mad {at my sister} 

[Adverb to "mad"] but I got {over it} [Adverb to "got"] My house is

brick {at the bottom} [Adverb to "is"] Note #3 and yellow {at the

top} [Adverb to "is"] We live {at 1302 Wxxxxxx Ave.} [Adverb

to "live"] My house has two floors.  We have a hill {around my

house.} [Adverb to "have" or adjective to "hill"] We have two living 

rooms, three bedrooms, two bathrooms, and a kitchen. We 

have eight rooms {in our house} [Adverb to "have"] We have 

two t.v {in my house.} [Adverb to "have"] I like my house very much.
 

Notes

1. Because beginners will be looking for prepositions (and not yet have been thinking about verbs), I have counted this as a prepositional phrase, adverbial to "think." Perhaps the better explanation is to consider "think of" as the verb (i.e., "remember"), and "anything" as its direct object. Many students will see this when they get to verbs. Ultimately, I would accept either anaysis as correct.

2. Expect errors here. Many students will mark "After everybody" as a prepositional phrase. Point out that, in this sentence, the response to the question "After what?" is not "after everybody," but rather "After everybody went home." Because the answer to the question is a sentence, the construction is not a prepositional phrase. If the students are just beginning their work on prepositional phrases, I would ignore an error like this one on homework and tests. 
     When they are at KISS level three, students will learn that this construction is a subordinate clause. [Teachers might want to mention this fact, but don't push it -- let the students master one level at a time.]

3. I would also accept "at the bottom" as an adjective (or adverb) to "brick" and "at the top" as an adverb to "yellow."
 
 

Progress:
Total Words = 146 Words %
L1: In Prep Phrases  31  21

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