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By comparing these two sentences:

  1. He has money in his pocket.
  2. With money in his pocket, he set off.

It seems that "in his pocket" is modifying "with" in the sentence. Is it true? If so, it means the adverbial prepositional phrase is modifying a preposition?

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No, it is modifying money.

[with [money [in his pocket]PP]NP]PP

(NP = Noun phrase; PP = Prepositional phrase)

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  • So, does it mean that in "He has money in his pocket", "in his pocket" is also modifying "money"?
    – Kent Tong
    Sep 28, 2019 at 7:21
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    @KentTong: could be, but doesn't have to be. That sentence has two different possible structures, as is often the case with a modifying phrase like "in his pocket". It could modify money, or the sentence as a whole.
    – Colin Fine
    Sep 28, 2019 at 9:08

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