Prepositional phrases are groups of words starting with a preposition, that describe nouns, verbs, and adjectives. We’ll see lots of examples in this lesson!
Prepositional phrases can function as adjectives, modifying nouns or pronouns by providing additional information about them. For example, in the sentence “The book on the shelf is mine,” the prepositional phrase “on the shelf” modifies the noun “book” by telling us where it is located.
They can also function as adverbs, modifying verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs by answering questions such as “where,” “when,” “how,” or “why.” For instance, in the sentence “He ran to catch his train ,” the prepositional phrase “to catch his train” modifies the verb “ran” by telling us why he was running.
Prepositions can indicate direction, location, time, manner, and much more, and using prepositional phrases correctly can help you create better sentences! In this lesson, we’ll see lots of prepositional phrase examples, how they function within sentences, common uses, and common mistakes.
These three prepositions are commonly used to indicate place or location. Here are some examples – the prepositional phrases are in bold:
These two prepositions are often used to show movement from one place to another. For example:
“With” indicates association or accompaniment, and “by” shows how something was done. For example:
These prepositions are also frequently used. Here are some examples:
Now let’s look at the different types of prepositional phrases.
This type of prepositional phrase modifies nouns or pronouns in a sentence. It usually answers questions such as “what kind?” or “which one?” For example:
In some cases, an adjective prepositional phrase may be essential to understanding a sentence’s meaning. For example, consider this sentence: “The man with the red hat is my uncle.” Here, without the prepositional phrase “with the red hat” describing the subject “man,” we wouldn’t know which man is being referred to.
Here are some more examples of prepositional phrases functioning as adjectives. The prepositional phrases are in bold, and the nouns they describe are underlined:
Prepositional phrases act as adverbs when they modify verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs in a sentence. These typically answers questions such as “when?” “where?” “how?” and “why?”
Here are some examples of prepositional phrase modifying verbs:
And here are some examples of prepositional phrase modifying adjectives:
A prepositional phrase can even modify another adverb, for example: I like to get up early in the morning.
Prepositional phrases are essential components of a sentence that provide additional information about the subject, verb, or object. However, using them correctly can be difficult, especially for non-native English speakers. In this section, we will learn some tips on how to use prepositional phrases correctly in writing.
The first tip is to use the correct preposition. For example, consider these sentences with a similar prepositional phrase, but a different preposition:
The different prepositions make these three sentences mean completely different things! “On” the table means “on top of the table,” “beside” means “next to the table,” and “under” means lower than the table. This is why it’s important to learn common prepositions in English, what each one means, and how they are used.
Second, avoid using too many prepositional phrases, because it can make the sentence confusing. For example:
This sentence is not very clear because it has three prepositional phrases in a row, and the subject (“part”) is very far separated from the verb (“was”). We should divide up the sentence so that it is easier to understand.
Also, be careful with where you put a prepositional phrase in a sentence. It should be as close as possible to the word it modifies. For example:
Finally, remember that some verbs and adjectives require specific prepositions after them in order to convey their intended meaning correctly. For example, “depend on” instead of “depend of,” or “married to” instead of “married with.” Check out these lessons for common verb + preposition combinations and adjective + preposition combinations.
Now you’ve learned how a prepositional phrase can function like an adjective or an adverb, you’ve seen lots of sentences using prepositional phrases, and you’ve learned about common mistakes to avoid with them. Try putting it into practice by writing your own sentences using some of the prepositional phrase examples from this lesson!
