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Serious Grammar Questions!!!


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Please help me understand the following sentences:

 

Two of my brothers are in college.

 

I understand "two" is the subject and "are" is the verb. However, "in college" when diagrammed according to ds's book is placed on slanted line below verb like an adverb. I know it is prepositional phrase but I am wondering if it modifies the subject as a predicate adjective with the verb being linking.

 

 

Spring is not here yet.

 

Again I know "spring" is the subject and "is" is the verb and "yet" is an adverb. However, is not "here" describing "spring" as a predicate adjective??? His book diagramms "here" as a slanted line beneath "is" as if it it an adverb in this case. I know "here" can function as an adverb as in the sentence "Come here," but tin this case it is confusing to me. Can an adverb describe a linking verb like "is"?

 

Please help:D

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I'm not much help and I might be wrong but I think the subject in sentence 1 is 'brothers' not 'two'.
]

No, "brothers" is part of a prepositional phrase, "of the brothers," and can be removed from the sentence. "Two are in college."

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Please help me understand the following sentences:

 

Two of my brothers are in college.

 

I understand "two" is the subject and "are" is the verb. However, "in college" when diagrammed according to ds's book is placed on slanted line below verb like an adverb. I know it is prepositional phrase but I am wondering if it modifies the subject as a predicate adjective with the verb being linking.

 

 

Spring is not here yet.

 

Again I know "spring" is the subject and "is" is the verb and "yet" is an adverb. However, is not "here" describing "spring" as a predicate adjective??? His book diagramms "here" as a slanted line beneath "is" as if it it an adverb in this case. I know "here" can function as an adverb as in the sentence "Come here," but tin this case it is confusing to me. Can an adverb describe a linking verb like "is"?

 

Please help:D

"Here" is an adverb; it is not modifying "spring" in any way.

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"Here" is an adverb; it is not modifying "spring" in any way.

 

OK then spring is what though??? It seems like an incomplete though to me.... Normally a predicate adjective or predicate nominative follows a linking verb. I realize there are exceptions like the sentence "I am." However, is this the same???

Edited by priscilla
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OK then spring is what though??? It seems like an incomplete though to me.... Nromally a predicate adjective or predicate nominative follows a linking verb. I realize there are exceptions like the sentence "I am." However, is this the same???

"Spring" is the subject.

 

"Is here" is the complete verb.

 

That's as complex as I can get.:D

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]

No, "brothers" is part of a prepositional phrase, "of the brothers," and can be removed from the sentence. "Two are in college."

 

Are you sure? It seems as if two could be omitted without losing meaning, but brothers could not without damaging communication.

 

"My brothers are in college' means something, where 'Two are in college' requires further information to communicate anything.

 

I don't really know, I am just trying to talk it through for my own skill. :lol:

 

Thanks

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Are you sure? It seems as if two could be omitted without losing meaning, but brothers could not without damaging communication.

 

"My brothers are in college' means something, where 'Two are in college' requires further information to communicate anything.

 

I don't really know, I am just trying to talk it through for my own skill. :lol:

 

Thanks

"Two" is definitely the subject noun and "of my brothers" is an adjectival prepositional phrase describing "two." The word "brothers" is the object of the preposition "of." "My" is a possessive adjective.

Edited by priscilla
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Okay, "in college" modifies the verb are because it answers the question, where are they? If the question of where is answered then you are looking at a prepositional phrase acting as an adverb.

 

In the next sentence you have the questions of where and when answered with the words here and yet. The word not is an adverb because it modifies an adverb.

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OK then spring is what though??? It seems like an incomplete though to me.... Normally a predicate adjective or predicate nominative follows a linking verb. I realize there are exceptions like the sentence "I am." However, is this the same???

 

The verb "to be" can be used as a linking verb, a helping verb, or a state of being verb. In your examples, I'd argue that "is" and "are" are state of being verbs.

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