"bacteria or germs" is a compound direct object after the gerund "controlling" which is the object of the preposition "of"
Make sense?
I hope you'll point out to your teacher that non-word that is serving as a direct object after the main verb "showed."
=)
He showed scientists the potentiallty of controlling bacteria or germs.
Would "bacteria or germs" be a part of the prepositional phrase.
(I know that potentiallty isn't a word but it was on my worksheet.)
Thanks a lot, I pointed it out to him earlier today and he said "Oh, well"
Tell me if you think this sentence contains a linking verb.
Pasteur became a director for his research.
I thought it did because director is describing what Pasteur became. My teacher said it didn't but I beg to differ.
In the sentence "He showed scientists the potential of controlling bacteria or germs", the phrase "bacteria or germs" is not a compound direct object. Instead, it is the object of the preposition "of". The gerund "controlling" functions as the object of the preposition "of", and "bacteria or germs" is further specified by the adjective "potential".
To identify the parts of the sentence, let's break it down:
- Main verb: showed
- Direct object: scientists (who he showed)
- Object of the preposition "of": the potential of controlling bacteria or germs (this whole phrase describes what was shown)
Regarding the sentence "Pasteur became a director for his research", the word "director" is not a linking verb. In this sentence, "became" is the linking verb, connecting the subject "Pasteur" to the subject complement "a director". The word "director" in this case is a noun and not an adjective. It describes the role that Pasteur took on as a result of his research.
So, your initial understanding is correct. "Director" is not describing what Pasteur became; rather, it is what Pasteur became. However, it's worth noting that certain verbs, like "become," can sometimes be both linking and action verbs depending on the context. In this case, "became" is used as a linking verb.