They used to build houses
- Thread starter mimi2
- Start date
Mimi,
Your sentence is absolutely right. You use "of" because you are describing the materials of which the buildings were composed. You could have also said,
They used to build houses using mud and straw because...
They used to build houses with mud and straw because...
Hope this helps,
Joelline
Your sentence is absolutely right. You use "of" because you are describing the materials of which the buildings were composed. You could have also said,
They used to build houses using mud and straw because...
They used to build houses with mud and straw because...
Hope this helps,
Joelline
Joelline,
You help me a lot. Thank you very much.
I would like to ask you about the sentence above:
* What kind of the word "using"? Is it a present participle? Is it replaced a another clause?
Thanks.
Your sentence is right, Mimi, but to really confuse matters, you could have also used "with" ie:
"They used to build houses with mud and straw because they didn't have cement."
"With" better conveys the manner of building and places more emphasis on how the houses were built. "Of" is more benign and places more emphasis on the fact that they didn't have cement.
foxfirebrand
Senior Member
Southern AE greatly modified by a 1st-generation Scottish-American mother, and growing up abroad.
"They built houses of mud and straw."
"They built houses with mud and straw."
In the first sentence, "of mud and straw" is an adjectival prepositional phrase modifying "houses." It tells what kind of houses they are.
In the second, it is an adverbial prepositional phrase modifying "built." It tells how they built the houses.
.
.
"They built houses with mud and straw."
In the first sentence, "of mud and straw" is an adjectival prepositional phrase modifying "houses." It tells what kind of houses they are.
In the second, it is an adverbial prepositional phrase modifying "built." It tells how they built the houses.
.
.