Jerome waved as he rode past.
Is "past" a adverb or preposition?
Thanks.
preposition
Cheyanne is wrong.
A preposition always starts a phrase that ends with a noun or pronoun.
In this sentence, "past" is an adverb.
Thank you!
You're welcome.
To determine if "past" is an adverb or a preposition, we need to assess its function in the sentence. In the sentence you provided, "Jerome waved as he rode past," "past" is being used to indicate the direction or destination of Jerome's ride.
In this context, "past" is a preposition. Prepositions typically show relationships or positions between two or more elements in a sentence. They are usually followed by a noun or pronoun to complete the phrase.
To confirm this, you could try replacing "past" with another preposition, such as "through" or "beyond," and see if the sentence's meaning remains the same:
"Jerome waved as he rode through."
"Jerome waved as he rode beyond."
Both of these sentences maintain the original meaning of the sentence, indicating that "past" in the original sentence is indeed a preposition.