Prepositional Phrases A Story of Examples Prepositional Phrases

Prepositions and Phrases A phrase is a group of words that does not have both a subject and a verb. A prepositional phrase has a preposition and an object. The object is always a noun. They are often connected by an article or possessive adjective. A preposition is a word that can show location, time, and direction.

Common preposition of place at on Let’s meet at the river. above in front of across from by behind below in back of between under near over next to around through in

Prepositions Location examples – above, across, among, around, at… Jenny has a large sign above her jewelry store. She lives across the street (from the post office). Among her clients, there are some Japanese immigrants. Some of them like to wear necklaces around their necks. They enjoy looking at the pretty jewelry in the store window.

Prepositions More location examples – behind, below, beside, between, by Behind her store, Jenny has a flower garden. She also grows ferns below her papaya trees. Beside the papaya trees, there is a hose to water her plants. Sometimes she likes to sit on a chair between the two papaya trees. When she relaxes in the evening, she can watch many people walking by her store.

Prepositions More location examples – near, on, over, under Last Saturday, Jenny put a new mailbox near her front door. Then she painted her name and house number on a small metal rectangle. She placed the sign over the top of the mailbox. Finally, she hung a decorative chain under the mailbox which said “Welcome to my Store.”

Prepositions Time examples – after, before, during, in, on, since, to, until (till) Last Tuesday after dinner, her friend Alice comes over for tea and cake. They always give thanks before teatime. They talked about the dry weather during their conversation. “It rained very little in 2007,” Alice said. Jenny mentioned that she just received her water bill on Monday. “I haven’t seen as many customers since they raised the water rates,” she said. Looking at her watch Sally cried, “Oh! It’s 5 minutes to nine! Our conversation will have to wait until next time.”

Prepositions Direction examples – at, down, from, in, into, to, out, through, up “Are you going down the street to the grocery store?” Jenny asked. “Yes. Can I get you something from the store?” When she made the cake, she noticed there was no milk in her refrigerator. “Yes, thanks. When you go into the store, could you pick me up some milk?” “Of course. On my way out of the store, I’ll drive up Grand Avenue through the park.”

Prepositions Other examples – about, against, by, for, of, with, without We read a story about teens who misbehave in school. One boy fought with another student during recess. The article was written by a teacher at the boy’s school. He was not paid any money for the article. The parents of the boy were pleased at the change in their son’s behavior. However, without a change in the boy’s heart, his actions will never change.