Types of adverbials with "with"

[jutfrank]

Thanks for confirming, PaulMatthews, your input is appreciated.

So although with the virus is not an adjunct, it can still be considered a PP? I can't really get this. Are we saying that we have an adjective phrase:

infected with the virus

and we can analyse this into two parts, adjective and complement:

infected + with the virus

because my mind wants to keep the with with infected, not virus, as in:

infected with + the virus

or go straight down to three elements:

infected + with + the virus

Can you see why I think that? I thought a PP would have to have a kind of sense of independence, conceptually, not just a string of words including a preposition.

 

[PaulMatthews]

Thanks for confirming, PaulMatthews, your input is appreciated.

So although with the virus is not an adjunct, it can still be considered a PP? I can't really get this. Are we saying that we have an adjective phrase:

infected with the virus.

PM: Yes, it’s very much a PP, headed by the preposition “with”. The PP “with the virus” is complement of the adjective "infected" and it combines with it to form the AdjP "infected with the virus". The head word of the AdjP is "infected".

and we can analyse this into two parts, adjective and complement:

infected + with the virus.

PM: Yes,that’s correct.

because my mind wants to keep the with with infected, not virus, as in:

infected with + the virus.

PM: No, that would be wrong. It’s "infected" + "with the virus".

or go straight down to three elements:

infected + with + the virus.

PM: No, the complement of the adjective "infected" is the PP "with the virus". The PP itself would be analysed as "with" (head word) + "the virus" (complement).

Can you see why I think that? I thought a PP would have to have a kind of sense of independence, conceptually, not just a string of words including a preposition.

PM: The PP is a dependent of "infected". In other words its existence in the sentence is entirely dependent on the presence of the adjective "infected". It’s a shame I can’t show you a tree diagram, but I don’t think the software will permit one to be uploaded. I’ll check that out with a moderator, though.

 

[jutfrank]

Okay, what you're saying is very clear, thanks.

For somebody like me, who is keen to deepen my understanding in this area, it certainly would be an advantage on this Analysing and Diagramming Sentences forum to be able to present tree diagrams.

 

[PaulMatthews]

Okay, what you're saying is very clear, thanks.

For somebody like me, who is keen to deepen my understanding in this area, it certainly would be an advantage on this Analysing and Diagramming Sentences forum to be able to present tree diagrams.

Yes, tree diagrams make things so very much clearer since it becomes easy to see what goes with what. I'll contact a moderator asap and keep you informed

 

[Darryus]

Dear teachers,

Can sentence elements starting with the prepositional phrase "with..." be analysed in different ways?
Please correct my analysis.

1) This chap went on a free luxury holiday without his wife.
= Subject, Intransitive/Intensive Verb (?), Adverbial of place, Adverbial of Accompaniment.

Is the verb "went" considered as an intransitive or a copular verb here?
Is the adverbial of place obligatory?

2) All the people that were left behind became infected with the virus.
a) Subject, Copular Verb, Subject Complement (infected + with the virus)
b) Subject Copular Verb, Subject Complement, Adverbial of means/intrument (?)

Best regards

may we just define the phrase with the word with as a prepositional phrase?

 

[Darryus]

***** NOT A TEACHER *****

Helo, Hela:

I have checked my books, and it appears that "without his wife" in your sentence can, indeed, be parsed as an adverbial of attendant/accompanying circumstances.

Here are some citations that may interest you.

1. "His relatives, with much satisfaction, saw him leave the village."

a. That book says that "[A]n adverbial element may indicate accompanying circumstances: that is, certain actions or circumstances that occur at the same time as the action represented by the verb."

Source: Walter Kay Smart, English Review Grammar (1940), page 219.

2. "Louise came to the party with Alex."

a. That book calls that an adverbial of accompaniment.

Source: Bruce L. Liles, A Basic Grammar of Modern English (1979), page 26.

3. "I went to town with John."

a. That book tells us that we can often state such a sentence with two clauses.

i. It suggests this version: "John went to town, and I accompanied him."

Source: Celce-Murcia and Larsen-Freeman, The Grammar Book / An ESL/EFL Teacher's Course (1983), page 260.

(As you know, the rules applying to "with" in such sentences also apply to "without.")

I think it is more simple if you just diagram one of the sentences that you said it has an adverbial of accompaniment like this below:

Louise came to the party with Alex
Subject, Intransitive verb, prepositional phrase 1 ( the prepositional to), prepositional phrase 2 ( the prepositional with).

 

[hela]

Hello Darryus,

But when you say that a segment is a "prepositional phrase" you are giving its form and not its function. What I wanted to know is the function of the second prepositional phrase.

All the best

 

[MikeNewYork]

What is that prepositional phrase?

 

[Darryus]

What is that prepositional phrase?

I mean it is the phrase consists of a preposition and a noun, which the preposition is before the noun.

Is it correct to call that way?

Correct me if I am wrong.

 

[MikeNewYork]

In a prepositional phrase, the preposition comes before the noun.

 

[Darryus]

Hello Darryus,

But when you say that a segment is a "prepositional phrase" you are giving its form and not its function. What I wanted to know is the function of the second prepositional phrase.

All the best

The second prepositional phrase explains the prepositional phrase 1, which that explains how Louise came to the party


Correct me if I'm wrong.

 

[PaulMatthews]

Hello Darryus,

But when you say that a segment is a "prepositional phrase" you are giving its form and not its function. What I wanted to know is the function of the second prepositional phrase.

All the best

The function of the second PP is 'modifier'. In "Louise came [to the party with Alex]" the bracketed sequence is a PP, and within that PP, the second PP "with Alex" modifies the first PP "to the party".