Grammar Lesson 9.4: Prepositions and Prepostional Phrases

When you write for a formal purpose (school report)...

... avoid ending a sentence with a preposition INCORRECT: Whom are up talking to? CORRECT: To whom are you talking?

Verbs can NEVER be a part...

... of prepositional phrases.

The subject can NEVER be an...

...object. EXCEPT IN SOME CASES LIKE: I thought to myself..

Prepositional Phrase (1)

A group of words that begins with a preposition and ends with the object of the preposition EX: Trey visited his aunt {for[PREPOSITION] two weeks[OBJECT]}.←[PREPOSTIONAL PHRASE] ↖

Prepostion (1)

A word that shows direction, location, or a relationship between things. EX: Jared[NOUN/SUBJECT] looked[VERB] {on[PREPOSITION] the[ARTICLE] shelf[OBJECT].} ← PREPOSITIONAL PHRASE

Preposition (2)

Always part of a prepositional phrase

Adverb Phrase

It can modify a a verb, an adjecive, or another adverb. It tells how, when, where, or to what extent, as an adverb does. EX: He[PRONOUN/SUBJECT] traveled[VERB]←[mostly by plane{PREPOSITIONAL PHRASE}].

Adjective Phrase

It can modify a noun or pronoun by telling which one or what kind, as an adjective does. EX: The suitcase[NOUN/SUBJECT]←[in the hall {PREPOSITIONAL PHRASE}] belongs to Amelia.

Preposition (3)

May have a compound (more than one) object EX: Julia was gone until[PREPOSITION] last Tuesday[OBJECT] or Wednesday[OBJECT].

Prepositional Phrase (2)

Modifies another word in the sentence

Prepositional Phrase (3)

Should be placed close to the word it modifies to avoid confusion INCORRECT: Passengers looked for the book on the plane under the seat. (Is the plane under the seat?) CORRECT: Passengers on the plane looked for the book under the seats.

Object of a Preposition

The noun or pronoun that follows the preposition EX: She looked {under[PREPOSITION] the shelf[OBJECT] ↗}.←PREPOSITIONAL PHRASE↖

Preposition (5)

The object of a preposition will always come after the preposition She looked above(PREPOSITION[1st]) the shelf(OBJECT[2nd]).

Prepositional Phrase (4)

There are often more than one preposition phrase in a sentence. EX: Jared[NOUN/SUBJECT] looked[VERB] {at[PREPOSITION] the[ARTICLE] people[OBJECT]} running[VERB] {from[PREPOSITION] the[ARTICLE] train[OBJECT]} that was barreling[VERB] {towards[PREPOSITION] them}. {} = PREPOSITIONAL PHRASES

Preposition (4)

When the object of a preposition is a pronoun, it is always an object pronoun EX: Keep this between you and me.←[not I]

Commonly Used Prepositions

about, above, against, along, around, at, before, beside, beyond, but, by, for, from, inside, into, near, of, off, on, out, over, through, to, toward, up, with, etc.