The Function of Prepositions in Article

Prepositions

Prepositions are the biggest little words in English That are usually quite short and insignificant looking, but they have very important functions. They are always followed by nouns or pronouns. They are connective words that show the relationship between the nouns following them and one of the basic sentence elements: subject, verb, object, or complement.They usually indicate relationships, such as position, place, direction, time, manner, agent, possession, and condition, between their objects and other parts of the sentence. The noun or pronoun following the preposition is its object. The prepostion plus its object is called the prepotional phrase.

The Article

Dozens in Ohio Monitored for Possible Exposure to Nurse With Ebola

By MITCH SMITH OCT. 18, 2014

A police vehicle guarded a home Friday in Tallmadge, Ohio,

where Amber Joy Vinson, a health care worker, stayed during her visit to the area.

Credit Ty Wright for The New York Times

AKRON, Ohio — Health officials said Saturday that dozens of Ohio residents were being monitored after possibly being exposed to a nurse from Dallas who visited here just days before she was found to have Ebola, but that no cases of the deadly virus have yet been identified in the state.

The nurse, Amber Joy Vinson, who is now being treated at hospital in Atlanta, was on the team that cared for Thomas Eric Duncan, the Liberian man who died on Oct. 8 in Dallas from Ebola. Ms. Vinson had already flown to Ohio when Nina Pham, another nurse who treated Mr. Duncan, tested positive for Ebola.

Ohio politicians and health workers said they were on top of the issue, and life for most here has gone on with little interruption. But quarantines, a few school closures and images of Ms. Vinson’s relatives’ home shrouded in yellow police tape have not gone unnoticed.

“I think there’s obviously a huge amount of anxiety,” said Donald L. Plusquellic, Akron’s mayor.

Mr. Plusquellic called for the federal government to send more specially trained health care workers to Ohio in case anyone who contacted Ms. Vinson began experiencing symptoms of Ebola. He also suggested having a plane on standby in both Akron and Cleveland to carry any patient with Ebola symptoms to a hospital with the necessary facilities to treating the disease.

A bridal shop in Tallmadge, Ohio, visited by Ms. Vinson, was closed for business until further notice.

Credit Ty Wright for The New York Times

“Why wouldn’t we have a team in place and ready to transport someone at the first sign of symptoms?” Mr. Plusquellic said in a news release. “Why would we put our local hospital caregivers and staff at risk when it can be contained at the onset?”

The mayor’s plan is to get approval from Gov. John R. Kasich of Ohio or from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, which has sent a team here to assist local health workers.

Mr. Kasich, a Republican, met here with city leaders and federal and local public health officials on Saturday to discuss the state’s response. He said he would talk with medical professionals to decide where best to treat an Ebola patient.

“The public needs to know we’re doing everything we can possibly do to be on top of this,” Mr. Kasich said, “and we will stay on top of this until this problem has passed.”

Ms. Vinson reported that she “felt funny” during her trip earlier this month, officials have said, but she went shopping at an Akron bridal store and did not exhibit obvious symptoms of Ebola. That bridal shop is closed “until further notice,” a sign out front read Saturday, and the home of a relative of Ms. Vinson’s in nearby Tallmadge, Ohio, remained cordoned off and under guard by the police.

These are the sentences or phrases with preposition in the article above:

1. Dozens in Ohio Monitored for Possible Exposure to Nurse With Ebola

Explanation:

In phrase (1), there are four prepositional phrases: (1) in Ohio monitored, (2) for possible exposure, (3) to nurse, and (4) with Ebola.

2. Health officials said Saturday that dozens of Ohio residents were being monitored after possibly being exposed to a nurse from Dallas who visited here just days before she was found to have Ebola, but that no cases of the deadly virus have yet been identified in the state.

Explanation:

In sentence (2), there are six prepositional phrases: (5) of Ohio residents, (6) exposed to a nurse, (7) from Dallas, (8) before she was found, (9) of the deadly virus, and (10) in the state.

3. The nurse, Amber Joy Vinson, who is now being treated at hospital in Atlanta, was on the team that cared for Thomas Eric Duncan, the Liberian man who died on Oct. 8 in Dallas from Ebola.

Explanation:

In sentence (3), there are seven prepositional phrases: (11) at hospital, (12) in Atlanta, (13) on the team, (14) cared for Thomas Eric Duncan, (15) on Oct. 8, (16) in Dallas, (17)from Ebola.

4. Ms. Vinson had already flown to Ohio when Nina Pham, another nurse who treated Mr. Duncan, tested positive for Ebola.

Explanation:

In sentence (4), there are two prepositional phrases: (18) to Ohio, (19) for Ebola.

5. Ohio politicians and health workers said they were on top of the issue, and life for most here has gone on with little interruption.

Explanation:

In sentence (5), there are three prepositional phrases: (20) on top of the issue, (21) of the issue, (22) with little interruption.

6. But quarantines, a few school closures and images of Ms. Vinson’s relatives’ home shrouded in yellow police tape have not gone unnoticed.

Explanation:

In sentence (6), there are two prepositional phrases: (23) of Ms. Vinson's relatives' home, (24) in yellow police tape.

7. “I think there’s obviously a huge amount of anxiety,” said Donald L. Plusquellic, Akron’s mayor.

Explanation:

In sentence (7), there is one prepositional phrase: (25) of anxiety.

8. Mr. Plusquellic called for the federal government to send more specially trained health care workers to Ohio in case anyone who contacted Ms. Vinson began experiencing symptoms of Ebola. 

Explanation:

In sentence (8). there are four prepositional phrases: (26) called for the federal government, (27) to Ohio, (28) in case, (29) of Ebola.

9. He also suggested having a plane on standby in both Akron and Cleveland to carry any patient with Ebola symptoms to a hospital with the necessary facilities to treating the disease.

Explanation:

In sentence (9), there are four prepositional phrases: (30) in both Akron and Cleveland, (31) with Ebola symptoms, (32) to a hospital, (33) with the necessary facilities.

10. “Why wouldn’t we have a team in place and ready to transport someone at the first sign of symptoms?” Mr. Plusquellic said in a news release.

Explanation:

In sentence (10), there are four prepositional phrases: (34) in place, (35) at the first sign, (36) of symptoms, (37) in a news release.

11. “Why would we put our local hospital caregivers and staff at risk when it can be contained at the onset?”

Explanation:

In sentence (11), there are two prepositional phrases: (38) at risk, (39) at the onset.

12. The mayor’s plan is to get approval from Gov. John R. Kasich of Ohio or from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, which has sent a team here to assist local health workers.

Explanation:

In sentence (12), there are five prepositional phrases: (40) from Gov. John R. Kasich, (41) of Ohio, (42) from the Centers, (43) for Disease Control and Prevention, (44) in Atlanta.

13. Mr. Kasich, a Republican, met here with city leaders and federal and local public health officials on Saturday to discuss the state’s response.

Explanation:

In sentence (13), there are two prepositional phrases: (45) with city leaders and federal and local public health officials, (46) on Saturday.

14. He said he would talk with medical professionals to decide where best to treat an Ebola patient.

Explanation:

In sentence (14), there is one prepositional phrase: (47) with medical professionals.

15. “The public needs to know we’re doing everything we can possibly do to be on top of this,” Mr. Kasich said, “and we will stay on top of this until this problem has passed.”

Explanation:

In sentence (15), there is one prepositional phrase: (48) until this problem.

16. Ms. Vinson reported that she “felt funny” during her trip earlier this month, officials have said, but she went shopping at an Akron bridal store and did not exhibit obvious symptoms of Ebola.

Explanation:

In sentence (16), there is one prepositional phrase: (49) at an Akron bridal store.

17. That bridal shop is closed “until further notice,” a sign out front read Saturday, and the home of a relative of Ms. Vinson’s in nearby Tallmadge, Ohio, remained cordoned off and under guard by the police.

Explanantion:

In sentence (17), there are five prepositional phrases: (50) of a relative, (51) of Ms. Vinson's, (52) in nearby Tallmadge, (53) under guard, (54) by the police.

The Relationships of Prepositional Phrase

No.	Prepositional Phrase	Relationship
1.	In Ohio monitored	Condition
2.	For possible exposure	Purpose
3.	To nurse	Purpose
4.	With Ebola	Instrument
5.	Of Ohio residents	Possession
6.	Exposed to a nurse	Phrasal verb
7.	From Dallas	Direction
8.	Before she was found	Time
9.	Of the deadly virus	Possession
10.	In the state	Place
11.	At hospital	Place
12.	In Atlanta	Place
13.	On the team	Position
14.	Cared for Thomas Eric Duncan	Phrasal verb
15.	On Oct. 8	Time
16.	In Dallas	Place
17.	From Ebola	Cause
18.	To Ohio	Place
19.	For Ebola	Purpose
20.	On top of the issue	Place
21.	Of the issue	Possession
22.	With little interruption	Manner
23.	Of Ms. Vinson’s relatives’ home	Possession
24.	In yellow police tape	Manner
25.	Of anxiety	Possession
26.	Called for the federal government	Phrasal verb
27.	To Ohio	Place
28.	In case	Manner
29.	Of Ebola	Possession
30.	In both Akron and Cleveland	Place
31.	With Ebola symptoms	Identification
32.	To a hospital	Direction
33.	With the necessary facilities	Material
34.	In place	Place
35.	At the first sign	Identification
36.	Of symptoms	Possession
37.	In a news release	Place
38.	At risk	Position
39.	At the onset	Position
40.	From Gov. John R. Kasich	Direction
41.	Of Ohio	Possession
42.	From the Centers	Direction
43.	For Disease Control and Prevention	Purpose
44.	In Atlanta	Place
45.	With city leaders and federal and local public health officials	Instrument
46.	On Saturday	Time
47.	With medical professionals	Manner
48.	Until this problem	Time
49.	At an Akron bridal store	Place
50.	Of a relative	Possession
51.	Of Ms. Vinson’s	Possession
52.	In nearby Tallmadge	Place
53.	Under guard	Position
54.	By the police	Agent

-ing Form in Article

The Article

Offering Help and Hope as Ebola Epidemic Unfolds

By ALAN FEUER OCT. 5, 2014

The Temple of Faith Church on Staten Island, led by the Rev. Roselyn Holder-Dimerson, center,

is closely watching the outbreak.

Credit Robert Stolarik for The New York Times

After the offering was taken and the service was coming to an end, the Rev. Roselyn Holder-Dimerson of the Temple of Faith Church on Staten Island asked her congregation to do together what they were no doubt already doing on their own.

“Let us pray now,” she said, “for Liberia and for all the other African countries affected by this Ebola disease.”

All across Little Liberia, a community of African expatriates in the Clifton section of Staten Island, praying people turned their minds on Sunday to their homeland, which has been struggling for months with an increasingly perilous Ebola epidemic. In large churches and in tiny storefront houses of worship, local Liberians this weekend sent their best wishes — and in many cases their money — home to their families, hoping that their prayers and donations could make up for a lack of cotton balls, rubber gloves and other medical supplies.

There are more than 50 Liberian families that worship at the Temple of Faith and each of them, said Walters Weah, the church’s administrator, knows someone overseas who has died from Ebola. Stories have reached Staten Island about stricken relatives lying for days — or sometimes weeks — at home without any attention from physicians or the government.

The Rev. Demetrius S. Carolina Sr., pastor at First Central Baptist Church in Staten Island, on Sunday.

His church has sent almost $2,000 to Liberia to combat the outbreak.

Credit Robert Stolarik for The New York Times

“We hear about sick people who call for help, and no one comes to pick them up until they’re dead,” Mr. Weah said. His church has begun an effort to buy an ambulance and ship it, at its own expense, to Liberia. But while the money has been forthcoming, there have been problems getting the aid to where it needs to be.

“Many of us have given up hope,” Mr. Weah reluctantly admitted. “The government has done very little to address the situation. Everyone here is worried, everyone is praying. The truth is that we don’t know what to do.”

One thing the community has managed to do is set up a handful of drop-off sites in the neighborhood for donation. It had also planned a concert and fund-raising event for Sunday night at the Christ Assembly Lutheran Church on Hudson Street. The organizers, the Liberian Community Association and the Staten Island Ministerial Alliance, hoped to raise as much as $50,000 for Ebola relief, Mr. Weah said.

There are five major Liberian churches on Staten Island, which is home to a substantial Liberian expatriate community. Some, like Temple of Faith, maintain informal, more familial relations with their homeland. Others, like the First Central Baptist Church on Wright Street, have sent official missions to Liberia in recent years, to build schools and affiliated churches.


More Ebola Coverage

“Through our sister church, we have already sent bleach, alcohol, medical swabs and almost $2,000 overseas,” the Rev. Demetrius S. Carolina Sr., the pastor at First Central Baptist, said. “It’s obviously a delicate social and economic situation over there and we, here on Staten Island, are united in trying to come together and lend support in as humanely way as we possibly can.”

On Thursday night, officials from the city’s health department met with leaders of the African community in the Bronx, and they plan to hold similar events in the other boroughs.

Dr. Mary T. Bassett, the city’s health commissioner, said their immediate focus was to make sure that anyone who had recently traveled from West Africa and had fallen ill went to the hospital. All will be treated, regardless of their immigration status or their ability to pay.

“These are the people who most directly affected,” Dr. Bassett said. “We want them to have the information they need.”

For the city’s West Africans, it has not been easy watching the epidemic from afar. Recently, one member of First Central Baptist got word that his wife, his daughter and his cousin had all died of Ebola in Liberia. Other church members have suffered similar losses in the last few months.

“Is what is going on in Liberia affecting us here on Staten Island?” Mr. Carolina asked. “The answer is, yes. Absolutely, yes.”

These are the -ing forms in the sentence in the article above and the explanation:

1. Offering Help and Hope as Ebola Epidemic Unfolds

     Explanation:

       The word offering in sentence (1) is included into -ing form (offer + -ing) as a noun because it is a gerund which the function of gerund is a noun.

2. The Temple of Faith Church on Staten Island, led by the Rev. Roselyn Holder-Dimerson, center, is closely watching the outbreak.
     Explanation:
     The word watching in sentence (2) is included into -ing form (watch + -ing) as a verb because it occurs in the Simple Present Tense that is formed by Subject (The Temple of Faith Church on Staten Island, led by the Rev. Roselyn Holder-Dimerson, center) + auxiliary be (is) + present participle (watch + -ing). In the sentence above, the function of present participle watching is as a verb.

3. After the offering was taken and the service was coming to an end, the Rev. Roselyn Holder-Dimerson of the Temple of Faith Church on Staten Island asked her congregation to do together what they were no doubt already doing on their own.
     Explanation:
     The word offering in sentence (3) above is included into an -ing form that the function is as a noun because it is considered to be a gerund which the function of gerund is as a noun.

4. All across Little Liberia, a community of African expatriates in the Clifton section of Staten Island, praying people turned their minds on Sunday to their homeland, which has been struggling for months with an increasingly perilous Ebola epidemic.
     Explanation:
     The word praying in sentence (4) above is included into an -ing form as it comes from the word pray and the suffix -ing. In the sentence above, it is categorized as present participle that the function is as an adjective because it modifies the noun people.

5. All across Little Liberia, a community of African expatriates in the Clifton section of Staten Island, praying people turned their minds on Sunday to their homeland, which has been struggling for months with an increasingly perilous Ebola epidemic.
     Explanation:
     The word struggling in sentence (5) above is included into an -ing form as it comes from the word struggle and the suffix -ing. In the sentence above, the word struggling is included into a present participle as a verb because it occursin the Present Perfect Continuous Tense which is formed by Subject (which as a pronoun of a community of African) + auxiliary have (has) + been + present participle (struggling).

6. In large churches and in tiny storefront houses of worship, local Liberians this weekend sent their best wishes — and in many cases their money — home to their families, hoping that their prayers and donations could make up for a lack of cotton balls, rubber gloves and other medical supplies.
     Explanation:
     The word hoping in sentence (6) above can be considered as an -ing form as present participle (comes from the word hope and the suffix -ing) as an adjective because it modifies the noun local Liberians.

7. But while the money has been forthcoming, there have been problems getting the aid to where it needs to be.
     Explanation:
     The word forthcoming in sentence (7) above can be included into a present participle because it comes from the word forthcome and the suffix -ing. In the sentence above, the function of the present participle forthcoming is as a verb because it occurs in the Present Perfect Progressive Tense that is formed by Subject (the money) + auxiliary have (has) + been + present participle (forthcoming).

8. But while the money has been forthcoming, there have been problems getting the aid to where it needs to be.
     Explanation:
     The word getting in sentence (8) above can be included into present participle which comes from the verb get and the suffix -ing. The function of the present participle getting in sentence above is as an adjective because it modifies the noun problems.

9. Everyone here is worried, everyone is praying.
     Explanation:
     The word praying in sentence (9) above is included into present participle which comes from the verb pray and the suffix -ing. In the sentence above, the function of the present participle praying is as a verb because it occurs in the Present Progressive Tense that is formed by Subject (everyone) + auxiliary be (is) + present participle (praying).

10. It had also planned a concert and fund-raising event for Sunday night at the Christ Assembly Lutheran Church on Hudson Street.
     Explanation:
     The compound word fund-raising in sentence (10) above can be considered as present participle because the word raising comes from the verb raise and the suffix -ing. In the sentence, the function of the present participle fund-raising is as an adjective because it modifies the following noun event.

11. It’s obviously a delicate social and economic situation over there and we, here on Staten Island, are united in trying to come together and lend support in as humanely way as we possibly can.
     Explanation:
     The word trying in sentence (11) is included into a gerund because it occurs after the preposition in. The function of the gerund trying is as a noun.

12. Is what is going on in Liberia affecting us here on Staten Island?
     Explanation:
     The word going in sentence (12) above can be concluded into a present participle because it comes from the verb go and the suffix -ing. The function of the present participle going in the sentence above is as a verb because it occurs in the Present Progressive Tense that is formed by Subject (what) + auxiliary be (is) + present participle (going).

Direct Speech and Indirect Speech in Articles

ARTICLE 1

At Service for Dallas Ebola Victim, Relatives Recall a Gentle, Generous Man

By JONATHAN M. KATZ OCT. 18, 2014

Thomas Eric Duncan’s mother, Nowai Gartay, center, at his memorial rites in Salisbury, N.C. 
Credit Andy McMillan for The New York Times

SALISBURY, N.C. — With hymns and prayers for answers, family andfriends gathered at a North Carolina church on Saturday to bid farewell to Thomas Eric Duncan, the first person to die of Ebola in the United States.

Mr. Duncan’s mother sat weeping with other relatives in the front row of the small, red-carpeted sanctuary of the church they attend here, Rowan International Church. About 30 other congregants stood and sang, “I must tell Jesus all of my trials,” and, “We have a God who never fails.”

A slide show of photos of Mr. Duncan in Liberia played in a loop over the dais. In eulogies, relatives remembered him as a giving man who had shown courage throughout his 42 years, even as bullets flew during the Liberian civil war. They emphasized that he had contracted Ebola when he helped carry a sick woman just days before he was to make his long-awaited journey to the United States — though all were insistent that he did not know what disease she was suffering from.

“Let’s not forget how he died. He died helping someone,” said Harry Korkoryah, Mr. Duncan’s half brother. “He answered that call from God.”

Thomas Eric Duncan

Credit Wilmot Chayee/Associated Press

Undercurrents of frustration and doubt ran throughout the morning service.

“Where did Ebola come from to destroy people?” sermonized Bishop Arthur F. Kulah of the United Methodist Church in Liberia, one of at least nine members of the clergy from various churches at the service. “To set behind people who were already behind?”

Several relatives implied strongly that they did not believe the hospital’s or officials’ narratives of what had happened to Mr. Duncan during his illness in Dallas, where he arrived in September.

“The day will come when we all have answers for what happened to my brother,” said Josephus Weeks, Mr. Duncan’s nephew, who was the same age as his uncle and raised alongside him.

Mr. Weeks has been sharply critical of the care his uncle received at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital, denouncing the hospital for “ignorance, incompetence and indecency” in an opinion article on Tuesday in The Dallas Morning News and saying the hospital had been indifferent to the suffering of a black man who lacked health insurance. He was more muted after the solemn service here but did not hide his dissatisfaction, saying in an interview that the hospital had still not responded to the family’s questions.

The Rev. Samar Ghandour, in white, led a prayer for Mr. Duncan in Salisbury, N.C.
Credit Andy McMillan for The New York Times

“I’m not accusing anyone of anything, but we want to know what happened,” he said.

Mr. Duncan’s brief time in America touched off widespread alarm, which grew when two nurses from the Dallas hospital tested positive for Ebola in the week after his death on Oct. 8.

A cruise ship carrying another worker from the hospital was met on Saturday by a helicopter carrying supplies for blood testing, prompting cheers from passengers. The worker, a laboratory supervisor who handled Mr. Duncan’s blood samples, is in voluntary isolation on the Carnival Magic ship with her husband. Carnival Cruise Lines said she posed no health risk, but Texas officials wanted her to submit a blood sample for testing before the ship made its scheduled arrival in Galveston on Sunday morning.

At the memorial service for Mr. Duncan, relatives said they had not seen the man they knew as Eric for years, in some cases decades. Consequently, many of the stories shared were about him as a boy and young man, a master of playing soccer with a tennis ball, who would race his motorcycles down streets at top speed. Bishop Kulah, who founded a school for Liberian refugees in neighboring Ivory Coast that Mr. Duncan attended during the 1989-96 Liberian civil war, recalled the young man’s operation of a telephone booth to help displaced people contact their relatives back at home. He said Mr. Duncan had often allowed those who could not afford to pay to use the phone for free.

His half brother recounted Mr. Duncan’s long struggle to obtain a visa to the United States, which he used to visit Louise Troh, the mother of one of his children, and his dreams of someday living in this country for good. “He was going to do four or five jobs,” Mr. Korkoryah said. “He was going to make so much money. But God had other plans.”

ARTICLE 2

Dozens in Ohio Monitored for Possible Exposure to Nurse With Ebola

By MITCH SMITH OCT. 18, 2014

A police vehicle guarded a home Friday in Tallmadge, Ohio,
where Amber Joy Vinson, a health care worker, stayed during her visit to the area.
Credit Ty Wright for The New York Times

AKRON, Ohio — Health officials said Saturday that dozens of Ohio residents were being monitored after possibly being exposed to a nurse from Dallas who visited here just days before she was found to have Ebola, but that no cases of the deadly virus have yet been identified in the state.

The nurse, Amber Joy Vinson, who is now being treated at hospital in Atlanta, was on the team that cared for Thomas Eric Duncan, the Liberian man who died on Oct. 8 in Dallas from Ebola. Ms. Vinson had already flown to Ohio when Nina Pham, another nurse who treated Mr. Duncan, tested positive for Ebola.

Ohio politicians and health workers said they were on top of the issue, and life for most here has gone on with little interruption. But quarantines, a few school closures and images of Ms. Vinson’s relatives’ home shrouded in yellow police tape have not gone unnoticed.

“I think there’s obviously a huge amount of anxiety,” said Donald L. Plusquellic, Akron’s mayor.

Mr. Plusquellic called for the federal government to send more specially trained health care workers to Ohio in case anyone who contacted Ms. Vinson began experiencing symptoms of Ebola. He also suggested having a plane on standby in both Akron and Cleveland to carry any patient with Ebola symptoms to a hospital with the necessary facilities to treating the disease.

A bridal shop in Tallmadge, Ohio, visited by Ms. Vinson, was closed for business until further notice.

Credit Ty Wright for The New York Times

“Why wouldn’t we have a team in place and ready to transport someone at the first sign of symptoms?” Mr. Plusquellic said in a news release. “Why would we put our local hospital caregivers and staff at risk when it can be contained at the onset?”

The mayor’s plan is to get approval from Gov. John R. Kasich of Ohio or from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, which has sent a team here to assist local health workers.

Mr. Kasich, a Republican, met here with city leaders and federal and local public health officials on Saturday to discuss the state’s response. He said he would talk with medical professionals to decide where best to treat an Ebola patient.

“The public needs to know we’re doing everything we can possibly do to be on top of this,” Mr. Kasich said, “and we will stay on top of this until this problem has passed.”

Ms. Vinson reported that she “felt funny” during her trip earlier this month, officials have said, but she went shopping at an Akron bridal store and did not exhibit obvious symptoms of Ebola. That bridal shop is closed “until further notice,” a sign out front read Saturday, and the home of a relative of Ms. Vinson’s in nearby Tallmadge, Ohio, remained cordoned off and under guard by the police.

ARTICLE 3

Offering Help and Hope as Ebola Epidemic Unfolds

By ALAN FEUER OCT. 5, 2014

The Temple of Faith Church on Staten Island, led by the Rev. Roselyn Holder-Dimerson, center,
is closely watching the outbreak.
Credit Robert Stolarik for The New York Times

After the offering was taken and the service was coming to an end, the Rev. Roselyn Holder-Dimerson of the Temple of Faith Church on Staten Island asked her congregation to do together what they were no doubt already doing on their own.

“Let us pray now,” she said, “for Liberia and for all the other African countries affected by this Ebola disease.”

All across Little Liberia, a community of African expatriates in the Clifton section of Staten Island, praying people turned their minds on Sunday to their homeland, which has been struggling for months with an increasingly perilous Ebola epidemic. In large churches and in tiny storefront houses of worship, local Liberians this weekend sent their best wishes — and in many cases their money — home to their families, hoping that their prayers and donations could make up for a lack of cotton balls, rubber gloves and other medical supplies.

There are more than 50 Liberian families that worship at the Temple of Faith and each of them, said Walters Weah, the church’s administrator, knows someone overseas who has died from Ebola. Stories have reached Staten Island about stricken relatives lying for days — or sometimes weeks — at home without any attention from physicians or the government.

The Rev. Demetrius S. Carolina Sr., pastor at First Central Baptist Church in Staten Island, on Sunday.
His church has sent almost $2,000 to Liberia to combat the outbreak.
Credit Robert Stolarik for The New York Times

“We hear about sick people who call for help, and no one comes to pick them up until they’re dead,” Mr. Weah said. His church has begun an effort to buy an ambulance and ship it, at its own expense, to Liberia. But while the money has been forthcoming, there have been problems getting the aid to where it needs to be.

“Many of us have given up hope,” Mr. Weah reluctantly admitted. “The government has done very little to address the situation. Everyone here is worried, everyone is praying. The truth is that we don’t know what to do.”

One thing the community has managed to do is set up a handful of drop-off sites in the neighborhood for donation. It had also planned a concert and fund-raising event for Sunday night at the Christ Assembly Lutheran Church on Hudson Street. The organizers, the Liberian Community Association and the Staten Island Ministerial Alliance, hoped to raise as much as $50,000 for Ebola relief, Mr. Weah said.

There are five major Liberian churches on Staten Island, which is home to a substantial Liberian expatriate community. Some, like Temple of Faith, maintain informal, more familial relations with their homeland. Others, like the First Central Baptist Church on Wright Street, have sent official missions to Liberia in recent years, to build schools and affiliated churches.

More Ebola Coverage

“Through our sister church, we have already sent bleach, alcohol, medical swabs and almost $2,000 overseas,” the Rev. Demetrius S. Carolina Sr., the pastor at First Central Baptist, said. “It’s obviously a delicate social and economic situation over there and we, here on Staten Island, are united in trying to come together and lend support in as humanely way as we possibly can.”

On Thursday night, officials from the city’s health department met with leaders of the African community in the Bronx, and they plan to hold similar events in the other boroughs.

Dr. Mary T. Bassett, the city’s health commissioner, said their immediate focus was to make sure that anyone who had recently traveled from West Africa and had fallen ill went to the hospital. All will be treated, regardless of their immigration status or their ability to pay.

“These are the people who most directly affected,” Dr. Bassett said. “We want them to have the information they need.”

For the city’s West Africans, it has not been easy watching the epidemic from afar. Recently, one member of First Central Baptist got word that his wife, his daughter and his cousin had all died of Ebola in Liberia. Other church members have suffered similar losses in the last few months.

“Is what is going on in Liberia affecting us here on Staten Island?” Mr. Carolina asked. “The answer is, yes. Absolutely, yes.”

These are the direct speech from three articles above:

Direct Speech in Statement

1. “The day will come when we all have answers for what happened to my brother,” said Josephus Weeks, Mr. Duncan’s nephew, who was the same age as his uncle and raised alongside him. (Article 1)

2. “I’m not accusing anyone of anything, but we want to know what happened,” he said. (Article 1)

Direct Speech in Question

3. “Where did Ebola come from to destroy people?” sermonized Bishop Arthur F. Kulah of the United Methodist Church in Liberia, one of at least nine members of the clergy from various churches at the service. (Article 1)

4. “Why wouldn’t we have a team in place and ready to transport someone at the first sign of symptoms?” Mr. Plusquellic said in a news release. (Article 2)

Direct Speech in Imperative

5. “Let’s not forget how he died. He died helping someone,” said Harry Korkoryah, Mr. Duncan’s half brother. (Article 1)

6. “Let us pray now,” she said, “for Liberia and for all the other African countries affected by this Ebola disease.” (Article 3)

These are the indirect speech (IS) form of the direct speech (DS) above:

1.

DS : “The day will come when we all have answers for what happened to my brother,” said Josephus Weeks, Mr. Duncan’s nephew, who was the same age as his uncle and raised alongside him.

IS : Josephus Weeks, Mr. Duncan’s nephew, who was the same age as his uncle and raised alongside him said that the day would come when they all had answers for what had happened to his brother.

Explanation:
      The Subject in the IS (Indirect Speech) above is Josephus Weeks, Mr. Duncan's nephew, who was the same age as his uncle and raised alongside him. The Verb in the IS above is said. The rest of the sentence in the IS is called noun clause that the function is as Object, that is that the day would come when they all had answers for what had happened to his brother.
     There are five changes in the IS, they are would from will, they from we, had from have, had happened from happened, and his from my. The first change is will. Will in the DS (Direct Speech) is in Present Future Tense that must be changed into Past Future Tense would in the IS. The second change is we. We in the DS in the pronouns of people who are with the speaker, Josepus Weeks, and we, who are reproducing the idea of Josephus Weeks's words, must change the pronoun we into they. The third change is have. Have in the DS is in Simple Present Tense, and it must be changed into Simple Past Tense had. The fourth change is happened. Happened in the DS is in Simple Past Tense, and we must change it into Past Perfect Tense had happened. The last change is my. My in the DS is Possessive Adjective of the speaker, Josephus, as the first person. As we are reproducing the idea of Josephus Weeks's words, we must change my into Possessive Adjective of Josephus as the third person, his.

2.

DS :  “I’m not accusing anyone of anything, but we want to know what happened,” he said.

IS : He said that he was not accusing anyone of anything, but they wanted to know what had happened.

Explanation:
      The Subject in the IS above is he, the Verb is said, and the rest of the sentence in the IS is noun clause that the function is as Object, that he was not accusing anyone of anything, but they wanted to know what had happened.
       There are five changes in the IS from the DS, they are he from I, was from am, they from, we, wanted from want, and had happened from happened. The first change is I. I in the DS refers to the speaker, he. So, in the IS, we must change I into pronoun that refers to the third person singular as the change, and we change it into he. The second change is am into was. Am is auxiliary for the subject I in Present Continuous Tense. If we want to change DS into IS, we must change the Present Continuous Tense into Past Continuous Tense. In Past Continuous Tense, we have was and were as auxiliary. Since the subject of the noun clause is he, we use the auxiliary was as the change. The third change is we into they. We in the DS is the pronoun for people who were with the subject he. As we are the reproducer of the speaker's (he) words, we must change it into they as the change, for the third person plural pronoun. The fourth change is want into wanted. Want in the DS is in Simple Present Tense and must be changed into Simple Past Tense, wanted, if we want to change DS into IS. The last change is happened into had happened. As we can see,  happened in the DS is in Simple Past Tense, and we must change it into Past Perfect Tense, had happened, if we want to change DS into IS.

3.

DS : “Where did Ebola come from to destroy people?” sermonized Bishop Arthur F. Kulah of the United Methodist Church in Liberia, one of at least nine members of the clergy from various churches at the service.

IS : Bishop Arthur F. Kulah of the United Methodist Church in Liberia, one of at least nine members of the clergy from various churches at the service, asked where Ebola had come from to destroy people. 

Explanation:
      The Subject in the IS above is Bishop Arthur F. Kulah of the United Methodist Church in Liberia, one of at least nine members of the clergy from various churches at the service. The Verb of the IS is asked. The Object of the IS is the noun clause where Ebola had come from to destroy people.
     There are some changes in the IS from The DS, they are the affirmative noun clause from question, the tenses: Past Perfect Tense from Simple Past Tense, did come into had come. In changing from DS into IS, we are not allowed to use question as a sentence. If there is a question in the DS, we change it into clause. For example, Where did Ebola come from to destroy people. We change it into a noun clause, then becomes where Ebola came from to destroy people. Besides the clause, we also must change the tense. Where Ebola came from to destroy people clause uses Simple Past Tense since the verb come is in the second form came. So, we change the tense from Simple Past Tense into Past Perfect Tense and becomes where Ebola had come from to destroy people.

4.

DS : “Why wouldn’t we have a team in place and ready to transport someone at the first sign of symptoms?” Mr. Plusquellic said in a news release.

IS : In a news release, Mr. Plusquellic asked why they wouldn’t have had a team in place and ready to transport someone at the first sign of symptoms.
Explanation:
      The Subject of the IS above is Mr. Plusquellic, the verb is asked, the Object is the noun clause why they wouldn't have had a team in place and ready to transport someone at the first sign of symptoms, and the rest of the sentence, in a news release, is adverb of place.
       As the DS above is in question, we must change the question into clause, that is noun clause. It might become why we wouldn't have a team in place and ready to trasport someone at the first sign of symptoms, and ommit the question mark. If we want to change the DS into IS, we must do some changes, like the pronoun and the tenses. We in the DS refers to people who were with the speaker, Mr. Plusquellic, so we must change the pronoun we into they, the pronoun of the third plural person. The last is that we must change the tense. Would not have in the DS is in Past Future Tense, so that we must change it into Past Future Perfect Tense and become would not have had.

5.

DS : “Let’s not forget how he died. He died helping someone,” said Harry Korkoryah, Mr. Duncan’s half brother.

IS : Harry Korkoryah, Mr. Duncan’s half brother, did not let them to forget how Mr. Duncan had died. Mr. Duncan had died helping someone.
Explanation:
     There are some changes in this Imperative Direct Speech. First, we change the imperative sentence into clause. We also change the tense. since the tense in the imperative is in Simple Present Tense, let not forget, we change it into Simple Past Tense, did not let, and change the Simple Past Tense, died, into Past Perfect Tense, had died. We must also change the pronoun us in the DS into them, and the pronoun he into Mr. Duncan.

6.

DS : “Let us pray now,” she said, “for Liberia and for all the other African countries affected by this Ebola disease.”

IS : She let them to pray then for Liberia and for all the other African countries had been affected by that Ebola disease.
Explanation:
      The case of the sentence above is as same as the sentence in number 5. First, we change the imperative sentence in the DS into clause. Second, we change the tenses. Since let pray in the imperative sentence is in Simple Present Tense, we must change it into Simple Past Tense. Affected is changed into had been affected. Besides the tenses, we must also change the pronouns. The pronoun us is changed into them. The next change is in the time indicator. If in the DS used now, we changed it into then. The last change is in the this that change into that.