Mike usually jogs four to five miles each morning.

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Katherine99

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Can someone please diagram the above sentence. Is "usually" the only adverb in the sentence? And is "jogs" an intransitive or transitive verb?
 

TheParser

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Hello, Katherine:

In my opinion, your sentence should be diagrammed like this:

1. Mike = subject.

2. usually = adverb.

a. Some would say it modifies the verb.
b. Some would say it modifies the whole sentence.

3. four to five miles = noun phrase

a. It is being used as an adverb.
b. Some books call it an adverbial objective.
c. Some books simply say that it is a noun phrase being used as an adverb.
d. My dictionaries tell me that "jog" is intransitive when it refers to running.
e. Thus, "Mike jogs three to five miles" = "Mike jogs to the extent of three to five miles." ("three to five miles" is a noun phrase that modifies the verb "jog." It is NOT an object.)

4. "each morning" is also an adverbial objective and is thus parsed the same way as "three to five miles."

5. "Mike usually jogs three to five miles each morning."


Mike jogs.
Mike usually jogs.
Mike usually jogs three to five miles.
Mike usually jogs three to five miles each morning.

*****

SOME books would say that your sentence contains one adverb ("usually") and two adverbials (those two noun phrases that are being used like adverbs).


Credit for the idea of "adverbial objectives" goes to House and Harman in their Descriptive English Grammar (copyright 1931 and 1950).

P.S. According to the Web, "jog" IS transitive in "It jogged my memory." "Memory" is a direct object.
 

Katherine99

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Hello, Katherine:

In my opinion, your sentence should be diagrammed like this:

1. Mike = subject.

2. usually = adverb.

a. Some would say it modifies the verb.
b. Some would say it modifies the whole sentence.

3. four to five miles = noun phrase

a. It is being used as an adverb.
b. Some books call it an adverbial objective.
c. Some books simply say that it is a noun phrase being used as an adverb.
d. My dictionaries tell me that "jog" is intransitive when it refers to running.
e. Thus, "Mike jogs three to five miles" = "Mike jogs to the extent of three to five miles." ("three to five miles" is a noun phrase that modifies the verb "jog." It is NOT an object.)

4. "each morning" is also an adverbial objective and is thus parsed the same way as "three to five miles."

5. "Mike usually jogs three to five miles each morning."


Mike jogs.
Mike usually jogs.
Mike usually jogs three to five miles.
Mike usually jogs three to five miles each morning.

*****

SOME books would say that your sentence contains one adverb ("usually") and two adverbials (those two noun phrases that are being used like adverbs).


Credit for the idea of "adverbial objectives" goes to House and Harman in their Descriptive English Grammar (copyright 1931 and 1950).

P.S. According to the Web, "jog" IS transitive in "It jogged my memory." "Memory" is a direct object.


Thanks. I was taking a test in another website where they asked to underline all adverbs in the above sentence. And the correct answer was just "usually", is that correct because the other two are adverbial phrases?
 

TheParser

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Please excuse the late reply.

The website is experiencing some "problems."

And I am TOTALLY computer illiterate.

I have just been able to access your reply.

Yes, that seems sensible: "usually" is the only "adverb" in the strictest sense of the word.

Well, I am going to post this. I hope that you are able to see it.
 

Katherine99

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Thank you so much for your help.
 
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