small, because it describes something.
This sentence is a common subject verb object sentence, where the adjective describes the object. In this sentence, the adjective spare describes the desk, telling the reader what kind of desk it is.
The adjective in "She sat down hurriedly at the spare desk", is the word "spare", describing the noun desk.
In the sentence "The woman at the desk is competent," the adjective "competent" is in the predicate position. It follows the linking verb "is" and describes the subject, "the woman at the desk," indicating her quality or state.
Example sentence - We bought the small kidney shaped antique desk we found at the auction.
No, the sentence does not have a misplaced modifier. The phrase "that Sarah had read" correctly describes the small book.
The adjective massive describes something as very large, massive, or solid. The adjective messy describes something as disorderly and/or dirty, demonstrating carelessness. A massive desk is a BIG desk. A messy desk is a DISORDERLY desk, perhaps even a DIRTY desk.
The prepositional phrase in the sentence is "under the desk."
The adjective form is the same, answer. Example are 'the answer key', 'an answer expert', 'the answer desk', etc.
"Can you watch the desk for me?" is a correct sentence. It means, "If someone approaches the desk can you answer his or her questions?" It also means, "If the phone rings, "Can you answer it." It has nothing to do with looking at the desk!
Adjective a+
My sixth-grade teacher told us an easy way to test if a word is a preposition: See how it sounds when followed by "the desk." In the desk. On the desk. Over the desk. Under the desk. Around the desk. Above the desk. Below the desk. Off the desk. A prepositional phrase begins with a preposition and ends with the object of the preposition. In the examples above, "desk" is the object.
An office or study desk refers to a small writing desk with drawers.