The Prepositional Phrase

These pools balls are “on the pools table”, not “in the pockets”.

Before we go into this lesson, let’s do a quick recap:

1. A phrase is a group of word tied together in a sentence.
2. A phrase, unlike a clause, has neither subject nor predicate.
3. A phrase does the work of a single part of speech.
4. Phrases may classified by how they are formed: prepositional phrases, infinitive phrases, participial phrases and gerund phrases.
5. Phrases may also be classified by the work they do in a sentence: noun phrases, adjective phrases and adverb phrases.

In this lesson, we will look at the prepositional phrase.

To understand the prepositional phrase, you must first understand what a preposition is. A preposition is a word that shows the relationship between an object and some other noun, pronoun or verb in a sentence.

Here is an example:

I walked over the bridge.

A preposition always takes an object. In the example above, the preposition is “over” and its object is “bridge”.

The preposition, together with its object, form a prepositional phrase.

Therefore, the words “over the bridge” is a prepositional phrase.

The table below gives some more examples.

In the sentences below the prepositions are underlined and the prepositional phrases are set in italics.

Mom was in the kitchen.

We walked over the hill.

A submarine travels under the sea.

Put the cake inside the oven.

Let’s go to my home.

There was a loud thunder before the storm.

We are going home after the party.

My friends are waiting outside of the house.

We will sit beside the fire.