by esledge Fri May 21, 2021 3:56 pm
Prepositional phrases can be either noun modifiers or adverbial modifiers. Often it depends on placement and context.
Noun modifier: The clown at the party is making balloon animals. (Which clown? The one at the party.)
Adverbial modifier: The clown is making balloon animals at the party . (Where is the clown doing this? At the party.)
Note that because a prepositional phrase can be adverbial, "at the party" doesn't necessarily describe the closest thing, which is "balloon animals" in the 2nd example. That interpretation would suggest that the clown is making a certain type of balloon animal (the type of animal at the party, as opposed to the type of animal under the sea, perhaps), which is less logical than the adverbial modifiers interpretation: "the clown is making (something) at the party."
Emily Sledge
Instructor
ManhattanGMAT