+85. The Framework of a Sentence+ has been already described as consisting of the subject, the verb, and, if the verb be incomplete, of some completing element, object or attribute complement. Occasionally an objective complement must be added. Besides these elementary parts, both subject and predicate may have modifiers.
The usual modifiers of the subject are:—
1. Adjective: [The golden bowl is broken].
2. Adjective phrase: [The house on the hill is beautiful].
3. Adjective clause: [The house which stands on the hill is beautiful].
4. Noun or pronoun in possessive case: [Helen’s paint box is lost].
5. Noun in apposition: [Mr. Merrill, the president of the club, will open the debate].
6. Adverb used as an adjective: [My sometime friend].
7. Infinitive used adjectively: [Work to do is a blessing].
8. Participle: [The child, lagging behind, lost her way].
The modifiers of the predicate are:—
1. Adverb: [The snow melted very quickly].
2. Noun used adverbially: [I walked a mile].
3. Infinitive used adverbially: [We were called together to decide an important question].
4. Adverbial phrase: [She ran along the road].
5. Adverbial clause: [Go when you can].
6. Nominative absolute: [The speeches being over, the audience dispersed].
Occasionally, adverbs and phrases of adverbial character modify the entire thought in a sentence, rather than some single word: [To speak plainly, I cannot go. Perhaps I may help you].
LIST OF SPECIAL WORDS
+86. Special Words.+—A list is here given of words which appear as various parts of speech:—–
+a+ (1) Adjective: A book. (2) Preposition: I go a-fishing.
+about+ (1) Preposition: Walk about the
house. (2) Adverb: We walked
about
for an hour. By, over, up, etc., are used
in the
same
way.
+above+ (1) Preposition: The sun is above
the horizon. (2) Adverb: Go
above.
(3) Noun: Every good gift is from above.
(4)
Adjective:
The above remarks are discredited. Below
has
the
same uses.
+after+ (1) Preposition: After our sail.
(2) Conjunctive adverb: He
came
after she went away.
+all+ (1) Pronoun: All went merry as
a marriage bell. (2) Noun: I
gave
my all. (3) Adjective: All hands
to the rescue.
(4)
Adverb: The work is all right.