Prepositional phrases are groups of words that have a preposition and an object of the preposition. The whole phrase will always act as either an adjective or an adverb.
A preposition will always start the phrase, and an object of the preposition will always end it. An object of the preposition is a noun or pronoun that follows the preposition.
preposition + noun, pronoun, gerund, or clause
preposition + modifier(s) + noun, pronoun, gerund, or clause
- Here are some examples:
At home
At=preposition; home=noun
In time
In = preposition; time = noun.
From Richie
From = preposition; Richie = noun.
- Most prepositional phrases are longer, like these:
From my grandmother
From = preposition; my = modifier; grandmother = noun.
Under the warm blanket
Under = preposition; the, warm = modifiers; blanket = noun.
A prepositional phrase will function as an adjective or adverb. As an adjective, the prepositional phrase will answer the question Which one?
Read these examples:
The book on the bathroom floor is swollen from shower steam.
Which book? The one on the bathroom floor!
Which book? The one on the bathroom floor!
The sweet potatoes in the vegetable bin are green with mold.
Which sweet potatoes? The ones forgotten in the vegetable bin!
Which sweet potatoes? The ones forgotten in the vegetable bin!
As an adverb, a prepositional phrase will answer questions such as How? When? or Where?
Freddy is stiff from yesterday's long football practice.
How did Freddy get stiff? From yesterday's long football practice!
How did Freddy get stiff? From yesterday's long football practice!
Before class, Josh begged his friends for a pencil.
When did Josh do his begging? Before class!
When did Josh do his begging? Before class!
Preposition List
A
aboard, about, above, across, after, against, ahead of, along, amid,
amidst, among, around, as, as far as, as of, aside from, at, athwart, atop
amidst, among, around, as, as far as, as of, aside from, at, athwart, atop
B
barring, because of, before, behind, below, beneath, beside, besides,
between, beyond, but, by, by means of
between, beyond, but, by, by means of
C
circa, concerning
D
despite, down, during
E
except, except for, excluding
F
far from, following, for, from
I
in, in accordance with, in addition to, in case of, in front of, in lieu of,
in place of, in spite of, including, inside, instead of, into
in place of, in spite of, including, inside, instead of, into
L
like
M
minus
N
near, next to
O
of, off, on, on account of, on behalf of, on top of, onto, opposite, out,
out of, outside, over
out of, outside, over
P
past, plus, prior to
R
regarding, regardless of
S
save, since
T
than, through, till, to, toward, towards
U
under, underneath, unlike, until, up, upon
V
versus, via
W
with, with regard to, within, without
