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antoni
08-22-2006, 05:21 AM
Can a prepositional phrase be followed by a present participle?
He kept on changing the subject.
I know here "kept on" is the phrasal verb and "on" is used as an adverb but if we remove the word "changing", then it surely becomes a preposition making "on" a preposition and "on the subject" a prepositional phrase. Is this all right?

Rusty
08-22-2006, 06:30 PM
Can a prepositional phrase be followed by a present participle?
He kept on changing the subject.
I know here "kept on" is the phrasal verb and "on" is used as an adverb but if we remove the word "changing", then it surely becomes a preposition making "on" a preposition and "on the subject" a prepositional phrase. Is this all right? He kept on changing the subject. (Kept on is a phrasal verb.
Meaning: He continued changing the subject).
He kept on changing the subject. (On the subject is a prepositional phrase.
Meaning: He stayed on the subject.

Some phrasal verbs can be followed by a present participle.
Examples:
He put off fixing the leaky faucet.
They can count on raising the funds they need.
He wants to get out of working on the weekends.