---
title: "Prepositional Phrases"
description: "Form and use prepositional phrases (preposition + noun phrase) to add detail about time, location, or direction within sentences, recognising how they function as adjective or adverb phrases"
canonical: https://lightmysky.com/learn/english/prepositional-phrases-mt_7SfQuXgNtd
source: https://lightmysky.com/learn/english/prepositional-phrases-mt_7SfQuXgNtd.md
retrieved: 2026-09-12
---

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# Prepositional Phrases

Form and use prepositional phrases (preposition + noun phrase) to add detail about time, location, or direction within sentences, recognising how they function as adjective or adverb phrases

Subject: English · Area: Grammar & Punctuation · Ages 9 to 10
Page: https://lightmysky.com/learn/english/prepositional-phrases-mt_7SfQuXgNtd

## Ready when they can

- Identify the preposition and noun phrase within a prepositional phrase, e.g. in 'under the old bridge', 'under' is the preposition and 'the old bridge' is the noun phrase
- Add prepositional phrases to expand sentences with detail about where, when, or how, e.g. 'The cat slept' → 'The cat slept on the warm windowsill throughout the afternoon'
- Distinguish prepositional phrases functioning as adjectives (modifying nouns: 'the house on the hill') from those functioning as adverbs (modifying verbs: 'she ran across the field')

## Lesson: Prepositional Phrases: Adding Detail

Good writers do not just say the cat slept. They say where and when, so we can picture it. That detail often comes from a prepositional phrase: a preposition plus a noun phrase. A preposition is a word like under, through, or during, showing where, when, or how. In under the old bridge, under is the preposition and the old bridge is the noun phrase. The noun phrase can even be one word: in after lunch, lunch is the whole noun phrase.

*(drawing: Over is the preposition. Together with the fence, it forms the prepositional phrase over the fence.)*

**Example.** Start with a plain sentence: The cat slept. Add prepositional phrases to say where and when: The cat slept on the warm windowsill throughout the afternoon. On the warm windowsill tells where. Throughout the afternoon tells when.

A prepositional phrase can do two different jobs. Sometimes it describes a noun, like the house on the hill. Here, on the hill describes the house, so it works like an adjective. Sometimes it describes a verb, like she ran across the field. Here, across the field describes how she ran, so it works like an adverb.

**Tip.** To tell the two jobs apart, ask what the phrase describes. If it describes a person, place, or thing, it is acting as an adjective phrase. If it describes an action, it is acting as an adverb phrase.

**Recap.** A prepositional phrase is a preposition plus a noun phrase, and it acts as an adjective when it describes a noun or an adverb when it describes a verb.

## Practice

24 questions on this page, each with its working shown.

## Needs first

- [Fronted Adverbials and Commas](https://lightmysky.com/learn/english/fronted-adverbials-and-commas-mt_0QJoKWABdC)
- [Choosing A or An](https://lightmysky.com/learn/english/choosing-a-or-an-mt_2l06snztdP)
- [Expanded noun phrases (age 8+)](https://lightmysky.com/learn/english/expanded-noun-phrases-age-8-mt_EbiGRVK8uR)
- [Expressing Time, Place and Cause](https://lightmysky.com/learn/english/expressing-time-place-and-cause-mt_uorNrPTh6U)
- [Prepositions](https://lightmysky.com/learn/english/prepositions-mt_VY3rBq8RyP)

## Opens up

- [Phrases & Clauses](https://lightmysky.com/learn/english/phrases-and-clauses-mt_IdFxLz-UW9)