joannqn Posted November 7, 2013 Share Posted November 7, 2013 What part of speech is the word "after" in the following sentence?After the surgery, it was a miracle to look in the mirror. Both of my kids indicated that it was a preposition. I think it is a preposition. The answer key says it is a conjunction. What say you grammar experts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FairProspects Posted November 7, 2013 Share Posted November 7, 2013 It is a subordinating conjunction. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nd293 Posted November 7, 2013 Share Posted November 7, 2013 I'm definitely not making any claim to be a grammar expert, but I think it is a conjunction. Firstly, a prepositional phrase acts as a modifier - in this sentence "after the surgery" doesn't modify "miracle" or "look" or "mirror". Also, a prepositional phrase acting as an adjective has to come next to the noun it is modifying - it can only come at the beginning of the sentence if modifying a verb, which it definitely isn't in this sentence. On the other hand, when "after" acts as a subordinating conjunction, it joins two groups of words, one of which doesn't make sense without the other. I think if the original sentence was "After the surgery was over, it was a miracle to look in the mirror", the role of "after" would be clearer. My first thought was actually that it was a preposition, but once I'd read carefully through one of the MCT grammar book I changed my mind. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TXBeth Posted November 7, 2013 Share Posted November 7, 2013 If the original sentence were "After the surgery was over, it was a miracle to look in the mirror," it would be a subordinating conjunction. In the original sentence, however, it is a preposition. The prepositional phrase "after the surgery" modifies the verb "was." Compare it to, "After dinner, we went to bed." Same (but simplified) grammatical set up. However, the sentence is poorly constructed to begin with and should not have been included in a grammar exercise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TXBeth Posted November 7, 2013 Share Posted November 7, 2013 It is a subordinating conjunction. From that link: A subordinating conjunction is always followed by a clause. Many subordinating conjunctions can be other parts of speech. Adverb:Jill came tumbling after. Preposition: Jill came tumbling after Jack. Subordinating Conjunction: Jill came tumbling after Jack had fallen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nd293 Posted November 7, 2013 Share Posted November 7, 2013 A subordinating conjunction is always followed by a clause. Many subordinating conjunctions can be other parts of speech. Interestingly, the MCT book refers to coordinating "groups of words", rather than clauses, although in all of the examples, the "groups of words" are clearly clauses. Not arguing with you, by the way, just expressing frustration at the grammar book! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joannqn Posted November 7, 2013 Author Share Posted November 7, 2013 I'm thinking along the same lines as Beth. This sentence, btw, is in Michael Clay Thompson's The Magic Lens Vol. 1. I have found many errors in the answer keys at all levels of MCT that we've done so far. I love the curriculum overall, but I hate the errors....way too many errors. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nansk Posted November 7, 2013 Share Posted November 7, 2013 If the original sentence were "After the surgery was over, it was a miracle to look in the mirror," it would be a subordinating conjunction. In the original sentence, however, it is a preposition. The prepositional phrase "after the surgery" modifies the verb "was." Compare it to, "After dinner, we went to bed." Same (but simplified) grammatical set up. I agree with your explanation, but not with the opinion you stated after that. ;) However, the sentence is poorly constructed to begin with and should not have been included in a grammar exercise. I think it is a common sort of sentence one may come across in reading, and I don't agree that only correctly constructed sentences should be included in a grammar exercise. A student (esp at Magic Lens level) should be able to analyse all sorts of sentences they encounter in their reading. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TXBeth Posted November 7, 2013 Share Posted November 7, 2013 I agree with your explanation, but not with the opinion you stated after that. ;) I think it is a common sort of sentence one may come across in reading, and I don't agree that only correctly constructed sentences should be included in a grammar exercise. A student (esp at Magic Lens level) should be able to analyse all sorts of sentences they encounter in their reading. But the sentence just doesn't make any sense. After the surgery, it was a miracle to look in the mirror. What does that mean? She was so sore that it was a miracle that she was able to open her eyes and look? Then they should say "it took a miracle for her to look in the mirror" or "she was miraculously able to look in the mirror." I suspect they intended to say that she saw in the mirror that the results of the surgery were miraculous, or something like that, but the sentence doesn't actually convey that at all. According to the sentence as it is written, looking in the mirror was in itself a miracle. I would agree with you if the exercise were asking "what is wrong with this sentence" or "how would you improve this sentence." Then the student could analyze the grammar to figure out the construction of the main clause should be altered in order to make the modifier's reference more clear (among other things). But the fact that the exercise is simply asking the student to identify parts of speech, to me, implies that the author of the curriculum considers the sentence to be a grammatical example, which it is not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mystie Posted November 7, 2013 Share Posted November 7, 2013 The way the sentence is written, it is a preposition because it is connecting a noun to the sentence. If it were connecting a clause, it would be a subordinating conjunction. I agree that it's not a great sentence and would be better revised than modeled. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FairProspects Posted November 7, 2013 Share Posted November 7, 2013 Has this one been asked on the MCT boards or Yahoo group? I'd be curious to see what RFWP has to say because I think there are other examples just like that labeled as subordinating conjunctions in Town too and I'd really like to know if they are wrong. :/ I can see how it could be a prep phrase acting adverbially after further explanation and I'd love to hear an MCT argument for conjunction or an acknowledgement of error. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amy M Posted November 7, 2013 Share Posted November 7, 2013 I thought, preposition. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Governess Posted November 7, 2013 Share Posted November 7, 2013 I think "after the surgery" is a prepositional phrase modifying the verb "was." It answers the adverb question "when?" and is an adverbial phrase. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Word Nerd Posted November 7, 2013 Share Posted November 7, 2013 . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joannqn Posted November 7, 2013 Author Share Posted November 7, 2013 Has this one been asked on the MCT boards or Yahoo group? I'd be curious to see what RFWP has to say because I think there are other examples just like that labeled as subordinating conjunctions in Town too and I'd really like to know if they are wrong. :/ I can see how it could be a prep phrase acting adverbially after further explanation and I'd love to hear an MCT argument for conjunction or an acknowledgement of error. I'll submit it. I really think it is a preposition though. There are just so many errors in the book that when the book and my kids disagree, I look at the problem and try to determine which is the correct answer rather than trust the book. If the book and the kids agree, I assume it is correct. Here's an example of another couple of errors, all from the same assignment: The geneticist's hobby was to study pathogenic substances. The book says that pathogenic is a noun. Cracked lengthwise, the object was discovered near the cascade. The book says that cascade is an adjective. Closing the door helped to reduce the cacophony. The book says that cacophony is an adjective. Rather than marking them wrong on my kids' work, I looked at the sentence and determined that the kids were correct and the answer key was wrong. I like MCT enough to use it despite the errors. However, when it gets up to the levels that exceed my knowledge, it gets more difficult to correct their work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joannqn Posted November 8, 2013 Author Share Posted November 8, 2013 MCT replied that it is an error. The word "after" is a preposition in this sentence. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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