What is the role of 美國 in "中國向美國報復"? A discussion arose from this post In ` 向谁说`, does `向` play the same role / have the same meaning as `对`?
What is the role of the noun after 向 in &quot;向 + noun + verb&quot;?
Is it the object? Someone argued 向 is a preposition, which introduces a prepositional phrase, therefore, the noun after 向 cannot be the object.
So, What is the role of 美國 in &quot;中國向美國報復&quot;?
This kind of confusion is usually caused by using English grammar to understand Chinese.
In Chinese grammar, 中國向美國報復:
中国， subject
向美国， prepositional phrase worked as adverbial(介词短语作状语); 美国 is the object of the preposition 向.
報復，predicate(谓语)