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Modifier

In the sentence below, what does the adverbial prepositional phrase modifier "On a plant" modify..."easily" or "hides"?

On a plant a green lacewing easily hides.

Re: Modifier

Hi Ali,

It modified the verb "hides":

On a plant a green lacewing easily hides.

This is an example of something called subject-dependent inversion. This kind of inversion occurs when an element like a preposition phrase is put before the subject when its basic position would be after the verb.

A green lacewing easily hides on a plant. (basic order)
On a plant a green lacewing easily hides. (subject-dependent inversion)

In both cases, the preposition phrase "on a plant" functions as an adjunct of place; it modifies the verb "hides" because it describes where the green lacewing hides.


PaulM