When learning English, it’s crucial to understand how words and prepositions function in different contexts. A common point of confusion arises with sentences like “What is the weather like?” and “What is the weather like today?”. In this article, we’ll break down how the preposition ‘like’ works and how it affects sentence meaning in these two examples.
Breaking Down the Sentence: ‘What is the weather like?’
The sentence ‘What is the weather like?’ is a simple question about the general condition of the weather. Here, ‘like’ acts as a linking verb that connects ‘weather’ to its descriptive phrase (how the weather is). The preposition ‘like’ introduces a comparison, asking for a description or likeness of the weather’s condition. ‘Like’ here modifies ‘weather’, not ‘what’, which is the subject of the sentence.
Understanding ‘What is the weather like today?’
When we add ‘today’ to the sentence, as in ‘What is the weather like today?’, the structure changes slightly, but the basic function of ‘like’ remains the same. ‘Today’ is used as a time frame modifier, specifying when the weather is being discussed. However, ‘like’ still modifies ‘weather’ because it’s describing the current condition of the weather. The difference here is that now the speaker is asking about the weather condition specifically for that day, not in a general sense.
How ‘Like’ Modifies the Sentence
In both examples, the preposition ‘like’ works similarly, modifying ‘weather’ to ask for a description. What changes in the second sentence is the addition of ‘today’, which restricts the question to the current weather. So, in both cases, ‘like’ modifies the noun ‘weather’, not the question word ‘what’ or the time phrase ‘today’.
To summarize, the key takeaway is that in both sentences, the preposition ‘like’ connects the noun ‘weather’ to its description. In the second sentence, ‘today’ is just providing a time frame but does not alter the fact that ‘like’ modifies ‘weather’.
Conclusion
Understanding the function of prepositions like ‘like’ is important when constructing questions about weather. While the addition of time expressions like ‘today’ may modify the context, it doesn’t change the role of ‘like’. It’s still describing the ‘weather’, providing us with the conditions we’re asking about. Mastering this subtlety in English grammar helps improve your fluency and precision in both speaking and writing.
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