Prepositions & Prepositional Phrases
Prepositions
A preposition is a single word. It sometimes refers to a direction. Some examples are:
- on
- in
- at
- under
- across
Prepositional Phrases
A prepositional phrase is a group of words (usually 3 to 5 words) that begins with a preposition. Examples:
- in a yellow house
- over the large hill
- at the small pond
A prepositional phrase must always contain a preposition, but it may also contain one or more of the following:
- article (a, an, the)
- noun (some examples are: house, hill, pond)
- pronoun (some examples are: him, her, them)
- adjective (some examples are: yellow, large, pretty)
A prepositional phrase can never contain any one of the following elements:
- subject
- verb
- object
Many prepositional phrases will contain an object TO THE PREPOSITION, but not an object of the main clause of the sentence.
Example #1
He was mowing the grass around
the house.
Explanation: "Grass" is the object of the main clause of the sentence,
but "house" is the object of the prepositional phrase "around the house," and
therefore, not part of the main clause.
Example #2
She ran the race with some
friends.
Explanation: "Race" is the object of the main clause of the sentence,
but "friends" is the object of the prepositional phrase "with some friends," and
therefore, not part of the main clause.
HOT GRAMMAR TIP
If you are looking for the subject and/or verb of a main clause in a sentence, cross off the prepositional phrase(s) since neither the subject nor the verb will be contained in a prepositional phrase. This will help you to identify the core parts (subject and verb) of the sentence more easily. When you edit your own writing, mentally crossing off the prepositional phrases will help you to identify whether you have included a subject and a verb; then you will know you have written a complete sentence and not a fragment.
Example #1
She moved quickly on a skateboard toward the house.
Explanation: Prepositional
phrases to be crossed off are: on a skateboard and toward the house. This leaves
She
moved quickly, a group of words that contains the subject (she) and
the verb (moved). So if you had written this sentence, you would be sure it was
a complete sentence.
Example #2
They went to the movies at the south end of
the campus.
Explanation: Prepositional phrases to be crossed off are: to the
movies, at the south end, and of the campus. This leaves They
went which contains
the subject (they) and the verb (went). So if you had written this sentence,
you would be sure it was a complete sentence.
SPECIAL NOTE: In order to be able to identify prepositional phrases, you will need to learn the common prepositions. You will also need to practice using them.