Prepositional Phrases

Prepositions are little words that show how things in a sentence relate to each other. They usually tell you about position, time, direction, or manner. In the sentence "The escaped platypus is on the table", the word "on" tells you where the platypus is compared to the table.

Some common prepositions are:

Position: in, on, under, above, beside, between Time: before, after, during, until Direction: to, from, toward, across

A preposition never works alone. It always brings along a noun or noun phrase to finish its idea. Together they make a prepositional phrase: preposition + noun phrase. In "under the old bridge", "under" is the preposition and "the old bridge" is the noun phrase. That noun phrase is called the object of the preposition.

Prepositional phrases are brilliant for adding detail. They can answer questions like where, when, and how. "The cat slept" is a bit plain. "The cat slept on the warm windowsill" tells you exactly where. Try adding a prepositional phrase to one of your own sentences and see how much richer it becomes.

Prepositions show relationships between words in a sentence. They usually give information about position, time, or direction. In "The players gripped their foam swords in their hands", the preposition "in" links the swords to the hands and tells you where they are.

Here are some common types:

Position: in, on, under, above, beside, between Time: before, after, during, until Direction: to, from, toward, across

A prepositional phrase is built from two parts. First comes the preposition, then comes its object, which is a noun or noun phrase. In "during the long summer", "during" is the preposition and "the long summer" is the noun phrase that completes it. Notice the noun phrase can carry its own describing words, like "long".

You can spot a prepositional phrase by asking: does this group of words start with a preposition and end with a noun? If yes, you have found one.

Prepositions are words that show relationships in a sentence, usually about position, time, or direction. Look at this: "After we sheared the sheep, we stored their fleece in plastic tubs that we sealed with tape." The prepositions "in" and "with" add extra information about the storing. They tell us where the fleece went and how the tubs were sealed.

Every prepositional phrase has the same recipe: a preposition plus a noun phrase. The noun phrase is called the object of the preposition. In "in plastic tubs", the preposition is "in" and the object is "plastic tubs".

A prepositional phrase can do two different jobs. Sometimes it acts like an adjective and describes a noun: "the house on the hill" tells you which house. Sometimes it acts like an adverb and describes a verb: "she ran across the field" tells you where she ran.

To tell the jobs apart, find what the phrase is giving more information about. If it answers "which one?" about a noun, it is working as an adjective. If it answers "where?", "when?", or "how?" about an action, it is working as an adverb.

A phrase is a group of words that works together as one part of speech. A phrase cannot stand alone as a sentence, but inside a sentence it does a real job.

Every phrase has a "head", which is the main word it is built around. All the other words in the phrase give more information about that head word. The head tells you what kind of phrase you have. The head of a noun phrase is a noun, like "the old bridge". The head of a verb phrase is a verb.

Phrases can also act like adjectives or adverbs. An adjective phrase describes a noun. In "the house on the hill", the phrase "on the hill" acts like an adjective because it tells you more about the house. An adverb phrase describes a verb. In "she ran across the field", the phrase "across the field" acts like an adverb because it tells you more about the running.

So when you meet a phrase, ask two questions. What is its head word? And what word in the sentence is it describing? Those two answers tell you exactly how the phrase is working.

A phrase is a group of words that works together as a single part of speech. Unlike a clause, a phrase does not have both a subject and a verb. Two very useful kinds of phrase are adjectival phrases and adverbial phrases.

An adjectival phrase does the job of an adjective: it describes a noun. It answers questions like "which one?" or "what kind?". In "the house on the hill is for sale", the phrase "on the hill" describes the noun "house". It tells you which house. Prepositional phrases often work this way when they sit right after a noun.

An adverbial phrase does the job of an adverb: it describes a verb. It answers questions like "where?", "when?", or "how?". In "she ran across the field", the phrase "across the field" describes the verb "ran". It tells you where she ran.

The same kind of phrase can switch jobs depending on the sentence. The trick is to look at what it describes. Describing a noun means adjectival. Describing a verb means adverbial.