Grammar analysis

Question

Hi, guys! I am very lucky to find this website. Hope you can help me to solve this question.

I need to finish an assignment of grammar analysis, I am not sure which part of the sentence functions as Subject, Verb, Object, Compliment or Adverbial. Here is the sentence:

It was the White Rabbit, trotting slowly back again, looking anxiously about, as if he had lost something.

I know the White Rabbit is the subject of this sentence, but 'It was the White Rabbit' is a cleft sentence, can I say this clause as the subject of this sentence?

'trotting slowly back again' is the adverbial of this sentence, right? However, I have no ideas of the rest of the part. Hope some of you can help me. Thanks.

Mag

CalifJim · Accepted Answer

Welcome to English Forums!

The subject is it.
The subject complement is White Rabbit.
The rest of the sentence contains a lot of modifiers of White Rabbit.

CJ

Mister Micawber · Answer

This is how I see your sentence:

It -- Subject. The sentence is not 'The White Rabbit was trotting, etc', but 'The White Rabbit was it'-- it as a pronoun referring to previous text, e.g. 'What was that?'
was -- V
the White Rabbit -- noun phrase as object complement
trotting slowly back again -- nonfinite adverbial clause
looking anxiously about -- nonfinite adverbial clause
as if -- phrasal subordinating conjunction
as if he had lost something -- dependent clause as sentence adverbial

There may be other interpretations.

Mag · Answer

Hi, Mister Micawber! Thanks for replying my problem. A thousand thanks to you!!

May I ask you one more question. What is the object of this sentence? Or it doesn't have any objects in it? Or 'as if he had lost something' functions as the object? It's because I think the sentence is 'The rabbit had lost something'. Am I right? Pls tell.....Thanks again.

Mag

Mister Micawber · Answer

No, it has no Object. Linking verbs have Complements; the structure is S-V-C. The basic sentence (the main clause) is simply It was the White Rabbit. (The White Rabbit was it.). The as if clause is defined in my previous post.

Anonymous · Answer

I would consider both "trotting..." and "looking..." as adjectival clauses modifying Rabbit.
The only object in the sentence is "something" in the dependent clause.

Mag · Answer

Hello, Mister Micawber,

Thanks for answering my questions again. May I ask you again if I've any questions about English? Thanks.

Mag

Mister Micawber · Answer

Yes, indeed-- that is why we are here, Mag.

Mag · Answer

Hello, everyone! I still have lots of questions according this sentence. Hope you guys can help me again.

I need to analysis this sentence and write down the form and function of the sentence. Moreover, I need to have the explanation.

First of all, I am not sure of the form of this clause 'Trotting slowly back again.'

-Is back an abverb or preposition? Explain to me pls.

-Is again an abverb here? Explain,pls. ( Is it possbile to have 3 abverbs in a sentence?)

Second, 'looking anxiously about': Is 'about' a preposition? But I don't know how to explain.

Third, I have written some explaination of this sentence, pls give me some comments:

The sentence type is SVCA (or do I need to write SVCAAA?, which one is correct?). It starts with a cleft structure in order to help us focus on 'the White Rabbit'. Here the noun 'Rabbit' is singular and in capital form which defines as a proper noun. The noun phrase 'the White Rabbit' is a subject complement (my tutor told me that it is a new sentence and no need to care about the previous text) which states the subject more clearly.

However, I don't know how to finish the conditional clause (as if he had lost something).

Thank you to all of you!

Mag

Mister Micawber · Answer

Hi Mag,

1a-- back is an adverb; basically, if the particle has no object, then it is not a preposition, which requires one.
1b-- again is an adverb; it describes the action of trotting.
1c-- you can have dozens of adverbs if your sentence is long enough.
2-- about is an adverb; it describes the action of looking and has no object. He is looking about the boat: here, about is a preposition.
3-- Just one A, and I am not sure you need that. In researching your question, I came upon [url=http://www.usingenglish.com/forum/general-language-discussions/2047-5-basic-sentence-patterns-sacred.html]THIS THREAD[/url] and its links. Casiopea has a far better grasp of structure than I, and I recommend that you read through her explanations thoroughly.
4-- I am not sure what you wish to do with the as if clause.

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