Is “with” a prepositional phrase?

With is a preposition that can be combined with nouns and modifiers to form prepositional phrases. It has a few meanings, including the following:

  • Who an action is performed with: “I went to the cinema with my brother.”
  • A combination of items: “they served tea with milk.”
  • What is used to carry out an action: “I wrote the letter with a fountain pen.”
  • How something is done: “They danced with skill and grace.”

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When should I use a semicolon to link independent clauses?

Semicolons are a useful way of joining together two independent clauses that are closely related (e.g., “Please take your shoes off; I’ve just mopped the floor”).

You can also use conjunctive adverbs to express the relationship between the clauses, which give insight into how your ideas are connected (e.g., “The experiment yielded unexpected results; moreover, it led to a reevaluation of our hypothesis”).

Semicolons add nuance and sophistication to your writing, but they should not be overused as this can make them less effective in helping information stand out.

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How are independent clauses linked to other clauses?

Independent clauses can be joined together using a semicolon (e.g., “I love my puppy Coco; she is so much fun”) or a comma and coordinating conjunction, like “and,” “but,” or “so” (e.g., “I wish I could play with Coco all day, but I have to work”).

Less commonly, a colon or an em dash can be used to link two independent clauses (e.g., “Let’s admit what the real problem is here: We haven’t devoted enough time to training”).

Independent clauses can also be joined with dependent clauses to form complex and compound-complex sentences. In a complex sentence, the independent clause is known as the main clause.

QuillBot’s Grammar Checker can help you use different sentence structures correctly.

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What is the difference between an independent clause and a dependent clause?

An independent clause has a subject and a verb and can stand on its own as a complete sentence (e.g., “Puppies are playful”).

A dependent clause must be joined with an independent clause because it does not express a complete thought (e.g., “Puppies are playful because they have a lot of energy”).

Dependent clauses are marked by the use of subordinating conjunctions (e.g., “because,” “although,” “while”) or relative pronouns (e.g., “that,” “which,” “who”).

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What is the difference between a direct object and an indirect object?

Direct objects are nouns that receive the action of a verb and answer the question “what?” or “whom?” (e.g., “I bought some flowers”).

Indirect objects are nouns that receive the direct object and answer the question “to whom?” or “for whom?” (e.g., “I bought Morgan some flowers”).

Both direct objects and indirect objects are used with transitive verbs. Direct objects are required after transitive verbs, and indirect objects are optional

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