Prepositional phrase or adverb phrase

[Peter Chan]

I saw a man dressed in black in the mall.

I saw in the mall a man dressed in black.

The two sentences have the same meaning.

Is the phrase "in the mall" a prepositional phrase modifying "The man dressed in black", or an adverb phrase modifying "saw"?

 

[MikeNewYork]

Your first sentence is fine; the second is not terribly natural.

As to the part of speech the prepositional phrase serves as, it is arguable.

It could be "saw in the mall". Adverb answering the question "where".
It could be "saw a man (who was) in the mall. Adjective answering the question "which man".

My preference would be "adverb".