NROC Developmental English Foundations

Prepositional Phrases

Learning Objective:

Use prepositional phrases in a sentence.

LESSON
In this lesson, you will learn how to use prepositional phrasesA group of words that starts with a preposition and ends with a noun. For example, in the prepositional phrase, At the desk, At is the preposition and the desk is the noun. in Standard EnglishThe established, widely recognized version of English that includes proper spelling, punctuation, and grammar and avoids regional expressions, jargon, slang, and obsolete and invented words..

PrepositionsPart of speech including words or groups of words that connect an object (a noun or a pronoun) to other words to describe it. They usually describe space (location) or time. Examples include: over, in, to, around, through. are words or groups of words that are used to connect information. Specifically, prepositions connect an objectA noun or pronoun in a sentence that receives the action performed by the subject. Example: The man ate the hamburger. In this case, the subject is the man and the object is the hamburger. (a nounA part of speech that refers to a person, place, or thing. Examples include: swimmer, lake, sunscreen. or a pronounA part of speech that substitutes for a noun or noun phrase. Examples include: I, he, you, they.) to other words to describe it; in particular, prepositions usually describe space (location) or time.

Common Prepositions

Prepositions Showing Space	Prepositions Showing Time	Other Prepositions
above	after	as
against	before	like
below	by	of
beneath	during
inside	in
next to	past
on	since
over	throughout
past	until
under	within

Of course, there are many more prepositions that show both space and time. It is not necessary to memorize all of them, but it is important to become familiar with them so that you can use them correctly and vary your writing style. In addition, some prepositions, like those listed in the "Other Prepositions" category, do not easily fit in either the space or time categories, but they are still prepositions.

While all the prepositions listed above are one word, there are a number of multiple-word prepositions that you can use, as well. They also provide more information about an object. The following table shows some sample multiple-word prepositional phrases you may encounter. Keep in mind, these are just a few examples.

Multiple-Word Prepositions

according to	in addition to	in spite of
as well as	in back of	on account of
because of	in front of	together with

When you combine a preposition with an object, you create a prepositional phrase.

For example:

Preposition	Object	Prepositional Phrase
in +	the rain	in the rain
above +	the clouds	above the clouds
during +	the night	during the night

Prepositional phrases help make descriptions more vivid and easier for the readers to "see" as they read.

Following are examples of how prepositional phrases are descriptiveA quality of writing that helps the reader understand and visualize specific details about the work. Adjectives that provide details as well as prepositional phrases that change the meaning of a sentence can aid in making a writing more descriptive. and can change the meaning of the sentenceA group of words, phrases, or clauses that expresses a complete thought. A complete sentence has these characteristics: a capitalized first word, a subject and a predicate, and end punctuation, such as a period (.), question mark (?), or exclamation mark (!). and what the reader visualizes while reading.

Descriptive Prepositions

Sentence	Prepositional Phrase Showing Space
The woman put her phone…	on the desk.
	under her hat.
	near her coffee cup.
	inside her purse.
	by her laptop.
Sentence	Prepositional Phrase Showing Time
He purchased the tickets…	before work.
	after receiving a phone call.
	during lunch.
	at the last minute.
	in the pouring rain.
Sentence	Other Prepositional Phrases
The elderly man gave him a box…	of rocks.
	as a gesture of kindness.
	like it was on fire.

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