J-rap Posted October 6, 2015 Share Posted October 6, 2015 I'm kind of embarrassed that I don't know, because I always thought I was good at grammar... "All around the house was a crooked fence." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sneezyone Posted October 6, 2015 Share Posted October 6, 2015 I'm kind of embarrassed that I don't know, because I always thought I was good at grammar... "All around the house was a crooked fence." fence. around the house is a prep. phrase. Try restating it. A crooked fence was all around the house. 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eternallytired Posted October 6, 2015 Share Posted October 6, 2015 Fence is the subject. The sentence is basically inverted from normal order. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J-rap Posted October 6, 2015 Author Share Posted October 6, 2015 Thanks. I had wondered if that might be it, but wasn't sure. What is "all," then? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted October 6, 2015 Share Posted October 6, 2015 Thanks. I had wondered if that might be it, but wasn't sure. What is "all," then? An adverb? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucy the Valiant Posted October 6, 2015 Share Posted October 6, 2015 "All" is an adverb modifying the prepositional phrase "around the house." (Prepositional phrases can also act as modifiers - this one is modifying the verb, so it's an adverbial prepositional phrase.) 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J-rap Posted October 6, 2015 Author Share Posted October 6, 2015 Thanks everyone! It really bugs me when I can't identify parts of speech! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happypamama Posted October 6, 2015 Share Posted October 6, 2015 Thanks. I had wondered if that might be it, but wasn't sure. What is "all," then? It is an adverb; it tells more about "around." To what extent was the fence around the house? ALL around. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted October 6, 2015 Share Posted October 6, 2015 It is an adverb; it tells more about "around." To what extent was the fence around the house? ALL around. Adverbs are the trickiest part of speech. It is why Easy Grammar teaches adverbs last. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kristie in Florida Posted October 6, 2015 Share Posted October 6, 2015 (I'm not the original poster.) I don't understand why fence is the subject. I understand it is fence when the words are rearranged, but I don't understand how it can be when it is at the end of the sentence. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J-rap Posted October 6, 2015 Author Share Posted October 6, 2015 I guess now and then, as in very rarely, the traditional structure of a sentence is reversed. So instead of "The kettle sat on the stove," you might say, "On the stove sat the kettle." "On the stove" is immediately crossed out because it's a prepositional phrase. So the only thing left that could be the subject is "kettle," even though it's at the end. Afterall, it is the kettle that is sitting on the stove. It's just in a strange reverse order. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sneezyone Posted October 6, 2015 Share Posted October 6, 2015 It's not at all uncommon to see that kind of phrasing in classic literature and even modern novels. It makes sentences sound more complex than they really are. I got really into regency romance novels in high school and saw this quite a bit. The dialogue, you understand, was deliberately antiquated. lol. :) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Desert Strawberry Posted October 6, 2015 Share Posted October 6, 2015 (I'm not the original poster.) I don't understand why fence is the subject. I understand it is fence when the words are rearranged, but I don't understand how it can be when it is at the end of the sentence. The fence is still doing the action (being all around the house), whether it is stated forward or backward. The action remains the same. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mimm Posted October 6, 2015 Share Posted October 6, 2015 The fence is still doing the action (being all around the house), whether it is stated forward or backward. The action remains the same. This is how I have to think of it. Start with the verb, is. Is what? All around the house, of course. So what is doing that? The fence. :) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carol in Cal. Posted October 6, 2015 Share Posted October 6, 2015 So 'around the house' is a prepositional phrase acting as a predicate adjective And 'all' is an adverb describing it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted October 6, 2015 Share Posted October 6, 2015 (I'm not the original poster.) I don't understand why fence is the subject. I understand it is fence when the words are rearranged, but I don't understand how it can be when it is at the end of the sentence. You ask: "Who or what was around the house?" The fence. Just because the typical word order in English is SPO does not mean it always has to be. "In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit". The hobbit is the subject. At the end of the sentence. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Holly Posted October 7, 2015 Share Posted October 7, 2015 And this is why grammar makes me want to cry... :leaving: I'm pretty sure we didn't cover this in school (and I was in Honors English). I really need to brush up on grammar since ELTL doesn't have an answer key. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TXBeth Posted October 7, 2015 Share Posted October 7, 2015 So 'around the house' is a prepositional phrase acting as a predicate adjective And 'all' is an adverb describing it. No, it is an adverb modifying the verb. Was where? around the house. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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