Jean in Newcastle Posted November 8, 2016 Share Posted November 8, 2016 Sentence: I send lots of cards to my relatives. Parsed: Pronoun Verb Noun (Preposition noun) (preposition adjective noun). Noun? Lots is a noun? And the direct object (again according to JAG). Why isn't cards the direct object? I send cards. (lots of them). Another sentence - same exercise. The card companies create all sorts of cards. Parsed: Article adjective noun verb adjective noun (preposition noun). Again - Why is sorts the direct object? Wouldn't the root sentence be "companies create cards"? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted November 8, 2016 Share Posted November 8, 2016 "Of" is a preposition, so the nouns that follow it are the object of the prepositions, not the direct objects of the verbs. Often times the skeleton of sentences don't sound right to our ears, but they are right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted November 8, 2016 Share Posted November 8, 2016 Sentence: I send lots of cards to my relatives. Parsed: Pronoun Verb Noun (Preposition noun) (preposition adjective noun). Noun? Lots is a noun? And the direct object (again according to JAG). Why isn't cards the direct object? I send cards. (lots of them). Another sentence - same exercise. The card companies create all sorts of cards. Parsed: Article adjective noun verb adjective noun (preposition noun). Again - Why is sorts the direct object? Wouldn't the root sentence be "companies create cards"? Yes, lots is a noun in this sentence. It is what is being sent. I send lots. "Of cards" is a prepositional phrase, and so therefore not the subject of the sentence. "To my relatives" is also a prepositional phrase. "Of cards" is a prepositional phrase and so therefore not the subject of the sentence. Companies create sorts. "Cards" is the object of the preposition, not the direct object. "Sorts" is the object of "create," and therefore the direct object. It is what the companies are creating. Easy Grammar for the win. :hat: 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in Newcastle Posted November 9, 2016 Author Share Posted November 9, 2016 I figured it had to do with the prepositional phrases. But what kind of a noun is a "sort". Or a "lot". (Not a lot of land). Those words don't seem to be persons, places or things. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted November 9, 2016 Share Posted November 9, 2016 I figured it had to do with the prepositional phrases. But what kind of a noun is a "sort". Or a "lot". (Not a lot of land). Those words don't seem to be persons, places or things. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk It doesn't matter what they seem to be. It matters how they are used in the sentence. You cross out prepositional phrases first, because they will not be the subject or verb of the sentence. What's left is...subject and verb. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MerryAtHope Posted November 9, 2016 Share Posted November 9, 2016 Easy Grammar for the win. :hat: Always loved how EG approaches grammar by identifying the prepositional phrases first! I figured it had to do with the prepositional phrases. But what kind of a noun is a "sort". Or a "lot". (Not a lot of land). Those words don't seem to be persons, places or things. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk If you substituted "an amount," (or specifically, "a large amount") it might make be a little clearer how it could be a noun--"amount" is a noun. You can also try the article test--this sentence could have said, "I send a lot of cards to my relatives." Articles indicate a noun is coming. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amy in NH Posted November 10, 2016 Share Posted November 10, 2016 A lot is a group of items. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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