Diagramming a sentence

Question

How would one digram the following sentence:She was on time?Is the prepositional phrase on time a predicate noun, or a prepositional phrase modifying the intransitive verb was ?

BarbaraPA · Accepted Answer

Door #3: An adjectival phrase modifying "she."

Anonymous · Answer

Several of my friends and I have been having this discussion.  One says that on time answers the question when making it an adverb modifying the verb.

BarbaraPA · Answer

So you think the question is "When was she?" instead of "What was she?"

BillJ · Answer

AnonymousHow would one digram the following sentence:

She was on time?

Is the prepositional phrase on time a predicate noun, or a prepositional phrase modifying the intransitive verb was ?

Hello

Neither is the simple answer! The prepositional phrase on time is an Adverbial clause element.

Here's why:

The verb 'be' is a special kind of verb called a copular (or linking) verb. What it links can be either a Complement (sometimes called a predicate noun or adjective) or an Adverbial:

('She was a doctor/typist/fat/thin etc'. = Complement, but 'She was on time/in the garden/outside etc' = Adverbial).

The important point here is one of semantic identity, which is crucial. A Complement has a semantic relation of identity to the subject:

In 'She is a doctor', 'she' = 'doctor'.

In 'She is on time', 'she' does not = 'on time'

So the prepositional phrase 'on time' is an Adverbial, not a predicate noun or a modifier.

BillJ

Anonymous · Answer

No. She was thinking that the prepositional phrase was linked to the verb was, not the pronoun she. Therefore making it an adverbial phrase.

Diagramming a sentence

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