The hills at the edge of the city were long and white. In the heart of the city on a hot summer's day, there was no shade and no trees and the station was filled with summer vacationers waiting to get on the train heading east. Lurking by the steps, there was the warm shadow of a long brimmed hat and a curtain, made of cotton, hung over the stroller, to keep out flies. The American and the girl of his dreams sat on the steps of 'The Garden' fawning over their beautiful new baby. It was very hot and the express to the Hamptons would come later that afternoon. It stopped at Pennsylvania Station and went all the way out to the very tip of their little universe, where all you could see was ocean for miles and miles.

 Vocabulary

vacationers (noun) people who travel to a different place for fun
lurking (verb) to be present, but hidden from plain sight
brimmed (adjective) to be full; the full part of the hat
stroller (noun) something that you can push to move a baby from place to place
fawning (verb) displaying affection or a lot of love
universe (noun) a special sphere of activity, interest, or experience

Vocabulary Exercise

 Complete the crossword puzzle by filling in the vocabulary words that each clue defines.

Summer in the City

Across
2. displaying affection or a lot of love
5. something that you can push to move a baby from place to place
Down
1. people who travel to a different place for fun
3. a special sphere of activity, interest, or experience
4. to be full; the full part of the hat
6. to be present, but hidden from plain sight

Grammar Point

Prepositional phrases typically begin with a preposition and end with a noun, pronoun, or clause, which is the object of the preposition. The object of the preposition may have one or more modifiers that describe it. Some examples of prepositional phrases are: at home, in time, with me, from my grandmother, under the warm blanket, and in the weedy, overgrown garden. Prepositional phrases function as adjectives in a sentence, essentially answering various questions such as where, when, how, with whom, etc.

Grammar Exercise 

There are many prepositional phrases throughout my post. Please re-read the post and identify all of the prepositional phrases as well as their purpose within each sentence. Then, write a short story of your own using as many prepositional phrases as you can. Remember to vary their purpose.