351. Since the subject and object are either nouns or some
equivalent of a noun, the words modifying them must be adjectives or
some equivalent of an adjective; and whenever the complement is a
noun, or the equivalent of the noun, it is modified by the same words
and word groups that modify the subject and the object.

These modifiers are as follows:--

(1) _A possessive_: "_My_ memory assures me of this;" "She asked her
_father's_ permission."

(2) _A word in apposition_: "Theodore Wieland, the _prisoner_ at the
bar, was now called upon for his defense;" "Him, this young
_idolater_, I have seasoned for thee."

(3) _An adjective_: "_Great_ geniuses have the _shortest_
biographies;" "Her father was a prince in Lebanon,--_proud_,
_unforgiving_, _austere_."

(4) _Prepositional phrase_: "Are the opinions _of a man on right and
wrong on fate and causation_, at the mercy of a broken sleep or an
indigestion?" "The poet needs a ground _in popular tradition_ to work
on."

(5) _Infinitive phrase_: "The way _to know him_ is to compare him, not
with nature, but with other men;" "She has a new and unattempted
problem _to solve_;" "The simplest utterances are worthiest _to be
written_."

(6) _Participial phrase_: "Another reading, _given at the request of a
Dutch lady_, was the scene from King John;" "This was the hour
_already appointed for the baptism_ of the new Christian daughter."

Exercise.--In each sentence in Sec. 351, tell whether the subject,
object, or complement is modified.

II. Modifiers of the Predicate.

352. Since the predicate is always a verb, the word modifying it
must be an adverb or its equivalent:--

(1) _Adverb:_ "_Slowly_ and _sadly_ we laid him down."

(2) _Prepositional phrase_: "The little carriage is creeping on _at
one mile an hour_;" "_In the twinkling of an eye_, our horses had
carried us _to the termination of the umbrageous isle_."

In such a sentence as, "He died like a God," the word group _like a
God_ is often taken as a phrase; but it is really a contracted clause,
the verb being omitted.

[Sidenote: _Tells how._]

(3) _Participial phrase:_ "She comes down from heaven to his help,
_interpreting for him the most difficult truths_, and _leading him
from star to star_."

(4) _Infinitive phrase:_ "No imprudent, no sociable angel, ever
dropped an early syllable _to answer his longing_."

(For participial and infinitive phrases, see further Secs. 357-363.)

(5) _Indirec