In a text book, there is a sentence which I can't analyze.
She's very conventional in her views.
Is a preposition phrase(in her views) an adverb phrase or an adjective phrase?
, Or does it function a complement?
-
Neither. "In" is a preposition, so "in her views" must be a preposition phrase functioning as complement of the adjective "conventional". The whole expression "very conventional in her views" is thus an adjective phrase.– BillJCommented Sep 14, 2021 at 7:56
Add a comment
|
2 Answers
A prepositional phrase is an adverbial. It generally provides additional information about the verb in the sentence:
I put the ice cream in the freezer.
It can also provide additional information about an adjctive:
She's very conventional in her views.
It can also be used as a complement, for example:
My house is in a small village.
answered Sep 14, 2021 at 4:23
-
Sorry, @JavaLatte but I disagree with your statement that "A prepositional phrase is an adverbial". Preposition is a category, while adverbial is a function; the terms should not be conflated. PPs can also be modifiers of nouns, as in "a woman of great wisdom" and "a school of this type". In those examples, the PP is a modifier in NP structure, not an adverbial. (aka adjunct). Note that in your first example, the PP "in the freezer" is not an adverbial but a complement since it cannot be omitted without loss of grammaticality. Obligatory items are always complements.– BillJCommented Sep 14, 2021 at 7:59
-
@BillJ I forgot but as far as I remember some adjuncts can be obligatory. Is that correct? If this is then being obligatory is not a good factor to distinguish complements from adjuncts. Though I agree with you that it is a complement here. A locative complement (a second complement) licensed by the predicator - put. Commented Oct 2, 2021 at 9:21
-
@Man_From_India No: Obligatory elements are always complements: they are needed to complete the verb phrase; optional elements may be either complements or adjuncts.– BillJCommented Oct 2, 2021 at 13:39
She's very conventional in her views.
"In her views" is neither an adverb phrase nor an adjective phrase. Such phrases have an adverb or an adjective as head.
"In" is a preposition, so "in her views" must be a preposition phrase, in this case functioning as complement of the adjective "conventional".
The whole expression "very conventional in her views" is thus an adjective phrase functioning as predicative complement of the verb "be".
-
I have a question. what is the difference between a predicative complement and an adjective complement?– bak1936Commented Sep 14, 2021 at 14:15
-
@bak1936 A predicative complement may be an adjective phrase or a noun phrase functoning as complement of a verb and related to a predicand such as the subject. The term 'adjective complement' is vague and imprecise, and probably intended to mean an adjective that is complement to some other element. I don't use the term myself.– BillJCommented Sep 14, 2021 at 18:24