Competent Writing Skills (was Re: teacher rants)

[Joe Varo]

At 08:30 PM 7/12/97 -0700, Paul Mackin wrote:
>The text in question: (non pynchonian)
>
> "Summer afternoons when the tar bubbles bloom in the road wild daisies
> beckon girls to seek petal fortunes and weave chains of fragrant dreams."
>
>Joe sez:
> How does "summer afternoons" function in
> this sentence?  Doesn't it need a predicate or a preposition? 
>
>I say: Summer afternoons is an adverb or adverbial phrase. Doesn't
>really need a proposition or verbal.
>
>Joe sez: I'm waiting to find out
>> what the "summer afternoons" are doing.
>
>I say: they're modifying 'wild daisies beckon.' Telling WHEN
>the action occurs.

I've still got to disagree with you; it still seems to me like some kind of
dangling noun phrase or something.

Any of you english/writing teachers want to weigh in on this?

>Hope this is taken as good clean fun.

Of course.

Joe