© 2019 Steve Campsall
© 2019 Steve Campsall
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modification (3) |
The drunken young man slipped awkwardly into a ditch although he seemed unhurt.
You will remember that an adverbial phrase is a part of a sentence that gives extra detail concerning the action told of by the verb; and this usually concerns time, place, manner, or cause.
In the above sentence:
'Awkwardly' tells of manner - it modifies the verb 'slipped' giving extra detail about how the action occurred
'Into a ditch' tells of place - again, it modifies the verb, 'slipped' giving detail about where the action occurred
(If the adverb 'yesterday' had been added, it would then tell more about when the action occurred).
Many adverbial phrases are actually a prepositional phrase that is acting adverbially.
Prepositions are
followed by a noun or noun phrase.
This creates
a prepositional phrase that
often acts adverbially to give detail about 'where', 'when' and 'how' an action occurred.
Note that prepositional phrases do not always act adverbially. They can become an adjectival phrase to post-modify a noun or noun phrase, e.g. 'The building of clear glass...', 'The exam in the hall...'; 'The town of red brick...'.
