Prepositions

PR1

Most Common p r e p .

at off l ike I went to the s tore .to from throughin of p r e p .

out into The box i s on the tab le .for overby underon wi th

2

Little words that begin phrases and often tell about location.

Preposition List

PR2

4

about down

above during

across except

after inside

against near

around outside

before since

behind throughout

below till

beneath toward

beside until

besides up

between upon

beyond without

Prepositional Phrase

PR3

p r e p n o u n

at the store

p r e p n o u n

by the lake

p r e p n o u n

under the sink

Phrases, usually 2 – 5 words in length that begin with a preposition and end with the first noun after the preposition.

Object of the Preposition

PR4

Ex.

on the table – obj. of prep.

at the store – obj. of prep.

at the store down the street.

The noun at the end of a prepositional phrase is called the object of the preposition.

Prepositional Phrases are Modifi ers

PR5

Adjective phrases – answer questions about nouns/pronouns

a d j e c t i v e p h r a s e

The woman ( in the red suit) is my aunt.

Adverb phrases – answer questions about verbs, adject ives, other adverbs

a d v e r b p h r a s e

We’re leaving ( in the morning.) tel ls when

Prepositional phrases can be adjective phrases or adverb phrases.

Compound Prepositions

PR6

in spite of according to out of

because of in place of along with

as far as instead of in front of

on account of in addition to due to

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Sometimes a group of two or three words can be used as a preposition. Some examples:

Prepositional Phrase or Infi nitive?

infi nitive = to + verb (to jump/to sit)

prep. phrase = to *various words* noun (to the store/to him)

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Do not confuse prepositional phrases with infinitives.

Why is it helpful to be able to fi nd

prepositional phrases in sentences?

PR8

THE SUBJECT & VERB OF A SENTENCE ARE NEVER IN A PREPOSITIONAL PHRASE!

18

Because if you find them and eliminate them the subject & verb will be more obvious.