Both sentences are correct. But, perhaps a better sentence would be --

"The capacious room was in one of the nine elementary schools in the area."

I am writing a personal narrative for my AP english class. One sentence I had written went as follows:

The capacious room belonged to one of nine elementary schools in the area.

However, a fellow student told me that "belonged to" was incorrect; it didn't make sense. I changed it to this, but I think that the wording is very awkward:

The capacious room was part of one of nine elementary schools in the area.

Was my original sentence wrong, and if so how do I change it?

Both sentences are grammatically correct, but there are alternative ways to rephrase the original sentence to improve its clarity and flow. Here are a few suggestions:

1. The spacious room was located in one of the nine elementary schools in the area.
2. The spacious room was situated within one of the nine elementary schools in the area.
3. The spacious room was a part of one of the nine elementary schools in the area.
4. The spacious room was found in one of the nine elementary schools in the area.

These alternative phrasings retain the meaning of the original sentence while making it clearer and more fluid. Feel free to choose the one that fits best with your personal narrative.

Both of your sentences convey the same meaning, but there are different ways you can structure your sentence to avoid any potential confusion or awkwardness.

Your original sentence, "The capacious room belonged to one of nine elementary schools in the area," is grammatically correct. However, it can be rephrased to make it sound more natural. One possible revision is:

"The capacious room was located within one of the nine elementary schools in the area."

In this revision, the phrase "belonged to" is replaced with "located within," which explicitly mentions the physical placement of the room in relation to the elementary schools.

Alternatively, you could rewrite the sentence as:

"The capacious room was part of one of the nine elementary schools in the area."

This revision is similar to your second sentence and maintains the same meaning, but it sounds more concise and avoids any potential confusion.

Ultimately, it's important to choose a phrasing that feels both natural and clear to convey your intended meaning.