Questions to Ask When Identifying the Function of a Word in the Sentence
The young but experienced physician wisely offered her patient a new prescription. The reassured patient was very grateful, and he recommended her to his friends.
Is the
predicate verb
an action
verb or a linking verb? (If the predicate verb is an
"intransitive" action verb, there may be no further questions to
ask regarding the basic sentence structure: e.g., Cats purr softly.)
What is the
subject
of
the
predicate verb: Who or what performs the action of the verb or is being
"described" by the predicate?
If the
predicate verb
is
an action verb, who or what receives the action of the verb? The answer is
the
direct object.
If the predicate verb is
a linking verb, what word or words in the predicate
"describe" (refer to, "complement") the subject? The answer
is the subject complement.
If the
predicate verb
is
an action verb and if there is a
direct object, does anyone or anything
receive the
direct object? If so, the answer is the
indirect object.
(Notice carefully the difference between the action of
"receiving" here and in question 4. There, the
direct object
receives the action of the
predicate verb.
Here, the
indirect object
receives the
direct object.)
Other questions that will help clarify the function of other words in the sentence relate mainly to "description." The answers will usually be adjectives and adverbs. Notice also the special category of prepositional phrases, in which what follows the "preposition" is the object of the preposition, whether a single word or phrase.
Answers. Back to parts of speech.
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