(1) Brenda would have liked to have taken her vacation at the beach. (2) However, the weather forecast on the television called for rain. (3) Also, her fiancé, Max, wanted to vacation in the mountains. (4) After a heated discussion, Brenda and Max decided to compromise. (5) They would spend their vacation time at Spring Lake. (6) That way, Jack could fish and Brenda could enjoy swimming.



13. In sentence 4, what is "After a heated discussion"?

A. An adjective phrase
B. An independent clause
C. A prepositional phrase
D. A dependent clause
I really don't get this one please help me?

Let's take your choices one at a time.

Adjective phrase? No.
It doesn't tell which, what kind of, or how many. It doesn't modify a noun.

Independent clause? No.
It can't stand by itself.

Prepositional phrase? Yes.
After is a preposition. There is no verb in this group of words. Discussion is the object of the preposition.

Dependent clause? No.
It doesn't have a verb.

To determine the answer, let's break down sentence 4: "After a heated discussion, Brenda and Max decided to compromise."

We need to identify what "After a heated discussion" is in terms of its grammatical structure.

- An adjective phrase describes a noun or pronoun. "After a heated discussion" does not directly describe a noun or pronoun in the sentence.
- An independent clause has a subject and a predicate and can stand alone as a complete sentence. "After a heated discussion" does not have a subject and a predicate, so it is not an independent clause.
- A prepositional phrase starts with a preposition ("after" in this case) and includes a noun or pronoun (in this case, "heated discussion"). "After a heated discussion" fits the structure of a prepositional phrase.
- A dependent clause has a subject and a predicate but cannot stand alone as a complete sentence. "After a heated discussion" does not have a subject and a predicate, so it is not a dependent clause.

From the options given, "After a heated discussion" is best identified as a prepositional phrase (option C).