In the sentence "I went to the airport to pick my sister up.", "I" is the subject, "went" is the verb and "to the airport" is the object... what would you call "to pick my sister up"? A modifier? An object?
2007-06-26 22:05:14 · 5 answers · asked by JudasHero 5 in Education & Reference ➔ Words & Wordplay
It's not for a test. I'm teaching my student and she asked me what that part of the sentence is called.
2007-06-26 23:15:58 · update #1
It is an adverbial phrase, but it's not a prepositional phrase. It is an infinitive phrase with two components.
1. To pick up - the infinitive. 'Pick up' is what's called a phrasal verb - a verb with what looks like a preposition associated with it. There are plenty of these in English - Wake up, turn on, run down, etc., and even some with two 'prepositions', such as put up with.
2. My sister - direct odject of the infinitive. Yes, independent infinitives may have objects.
2007-06-27 03:07:30 · answer #1 · answered by dollhaus 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The phrase "to the airport" isn't the object. The verb "go" is intransitive. It's just an adverb of place. The sentence "to pick my sister up" is a clause of purpose.
2007-06-27 05:12:15 · answer #2 · answered by Lilaki 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋
It's a prepositional phrase, and most grammarians would say that you should reword the sentence to read I went to the airport to pick up my sister. They hate it if you put the preposition at the end of the sentence unnecessarily.
2007-06-27 05:14:06 · answer #3 · answered by wheelintheditch 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
"To the airport "and "to pick UP my sister" are prepositional phrases.
Note the rewording in capital letters. If you end the sentence with up, you could get it scored down by your professor.
The famous quote by Churchill, "This is just the sort on nonsense up with which I shall not put." expresses the sentiments of others.
2007-06-27 05:30:30 · answer #4 · answered by Richard F 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
These are 2 sentences joined up.
I went to the Airport
I picked my sister up.
Joined to I went to the airport to pick my sister up.
2007-06-27 05:10:47 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 3⤋