DeepanshuGupta
Thanks a lot. That was indeed helpful. I have recently started my GMAT-Prep. Just one more question.
So it means that is it a prepositional phrase serving as an adverbial phrase? Or the other way around?
In either cases, what is the broader in scope? I mean to say whether prepositional phrases include adverbial modifiers/phrases or vice-versa
DeepanshuGuptaHey Deepanshu,
You're most welcome. Since you're just starting off with your GMAT Prep, it's extremely important that you first understand properly what the GMAT is a test of and what not. There are many misconceptions about this examination, and you could fall prey to any or all of them if you're completely relying on self-prep. One such example is to focus narrowly on grammar while missing the bigger picture that GMAT SC is more a test of reasoning and meaning than that of grammatical rules. A simple realization such as this can help you save a lot of time and effort during your prep.
So, I invite you to try out our
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blog articles on how to prepare for the various subsections of the GMAT. Let these be your guiding light with no strings attached. Trust me, it'll help.
Now, let me answer your question.
The "broader" thing to understand is that
a Prepositional Phrase always behaves as a modifier of some kind. A prepositional phrase is formed by a preposition and its noun object. For example:
- in the morning
- at the zoo
- because of her
- in accordance with the rules
As you can see from the above, there are one-word and multi-word prepositions in English.
Now, prepositional phrases can be attached to only three parts of speech: Nouns, Verbs, and Adjectives. And these prepositional phrases modify that part of speech they are "
logically" connected to. So, when they are attached to "nouns", they modify that noun as noun modifiers (adjectives). And when they are attached to "verbs" and "adjectives", they modify them as action modifiers or adjective modifiers (both called "adverbs"). Let's take a look at examples using the same phrases as above. See if you can identify the role of the prepositional phrase by deriving the meaning of the sentence.
1) My dad arrived in the morning.
2) The monkeys at the zoo are very playful.
3) I am happy because of her.
4) We acted in accordance with the rules.
In sentence 1, "in the morning" is an action modifier (adverb). It tells us the "
time" of my dad's arrival. In sentence 2, "at the zoo" is a noun modifier (adjective). It tells us "
which" monkeys. In sentence 3, "because of her" is an adjective modifier (adverb) telling us the "
reason" for my happiness. Finally, in sentence 4, "in accordance with the rules" is another action modifier (adverb) telling us "
how" we acted.
Notice how I focused on deriving the meaning of each application. As you go deeper into your prep, you will learn about various types of nouns, actions, noun modifiers, and action modifiers. Remember that all those could be modified by prepositional phrases.
To conclude,
prepositional phrases behave as modifiers.
Now that you have that out of the way, go back to focusing on Meaning Analysis with this new understanding of prepositional phrases.
I hope this helps.
Happy Learning!
Abhishek