The prepositional phrase

1. The PrepositionalPhrase
Recognize aprepositional phrase whenyousee one.
At the minimum,aprepositional phrase will beginwithaprepositionandendwithanoun,
pronoun,gerund,orclause,the "object"of the preposition.
The objectof the prepositionwill oftenhave one ormore modifierstodescribe it.These are
the patternsfor a prepositional phrase:
Preposition+Noun,Pronoun,Gerund,orClause
Preposition+Modifier(s) +Noun,Pronoun,Gerund,orClause
Here are some examplesof the mostbasicprepositionalphrase:
At home
At = preposition;home =noun.
In time
In = preposition;time =noun.
From Richie
From = preposition;Richie=noun.
Withme
With= preposition;me = pronoun.
By singing

2. By = preposition; singing=gerund.
Aboutwhatwe need
About= preposition;whatwe need=nounclause.
Most prepositionalphrasesare longer,like these:
From mygrandmother
From = preposition;my=modifier;grandmother=noun.
Under the warmblanket
Under = preposition;the,warm=modifiers;blanket=noun.
In the weedy,overgrowngarden
In = preposition;the,weedy,overgrown=modifiers;garden=noun.
Alongthe busy,six-lanehighway
Along= preposition;the,busy,six-lane=modifiers;highway=noun.
Withoutexcessivelyworrying
Without= preposition;excessively=modifier;worrying=gerund.
Understandwhatprepositionalphrasesdoinasentence.
A prepositional phrase will functionasanadjective oradverb.Asan adjective,the
prepositional phrase will answerthe questionWhichone?

3. Readthese examples:
The book onthe bathroomfloorisswollenfromshowersteam.
Whichbook?The one on the bathroomfloor!
The sweetpotatoesinthe vegetablebinare greenwithmold.
Whichsweetpotatoes?The onesforgotteninthe vegetablebin!
The note from Beverlyconfessedthatshe hadeatenthe leftoverpizza.
Whichnote?The one fromBeverly!
As an adverb,aprepositional phrasewillanswerquestionssuchasHow? When?or Where?
Freddyisstiff fromyesterday'slongfootball practice.
How didFreddygetstiff?Fromyesterday'slongfootball practice!
Before class,Joshbeggedhisfriendsforapencil.
WhendidJoshdo hisbegging?Before class!
Feelingbrave,we triedthe DragonBreathBurritosatTito's Taco Palace.
Where didwe eat the spicyfood?AtTito's Taco Palace!
Rememberthata prepositional phrase will nevercontainthe subjectof a sentence.

4. Sometimesanounwithinthe prepositional phrase seemsthe logical subjectof a verb.Don't
fall forthat trick!You will neverfindasubjectina prepositional phrase.Lookatthisexample:
Neitherof these cookbookscontainsthe recipe for Manhattan-style squideyeballstew.
Cookbooksdoindeedcontainrecipes.Inthissentence,however,cookbooksispartof the
prepositional phrase of these cookbooks.Neither—whateveraneitheris—isthe subjectfor
the verbcontains.
Neitherissingular, soyouneedthe singularformof the verb,contains.If youincorrectly
identifiedcookbooksasthe subject,youmightwrite contain,the plural form, andthuscommit
a subject-verbagreementerror.
Some prepositions—suchasalongwithandinadditionto—indicate "more tocome."Theywill
make youthinkthat youhave a plural subjectwheninfactyoudon't.Don't fall for thattrick
either!Readthisexample:
Tommy,alongwiththe otherstudents,breathedasighof relief whenMrs.Markham
announcedthat she was postponingthe due date forthe researchessay.
Logically,more thanone studentishappywiththe news.ButTommyis the onlysubjectof the
verbbreathed.Hisclassmatescountinthe real world,butinthe sentence,theydon'tmatter,
lockedas theyare inthe prepositional phrase.
http://www.chompchomp.com/terms/prepositionalphrase.htm
THE PREPOSITIONALPHRASE
A phrase isa groupof wordswithoutasubjectand a verb,used as one part of speech.A
verbphrase istwo or more wordsusedas a verb:mighthave gone,shouldhave given,could
have seen.A nounphrase istwo or more wordsusedas a noun:the BerlinWall,GrantPark.
The prepositional phrase consistsof the preposition,itsobject,andmodifiersof the
object.The objectof a prepositionisalwaysanoun,a pronoun,ora groupof wordsusedas a
noun.The adjective phrase alwayscomesimmediatelyafterthe nounorpronounitmodifies.
ex.My check forthe dressis inthe mail ("forthe dress"modifiescheck).
The adverbphrase tellshow,when,orwhere aboutaverb,adjective oradverb.
ex.The boy fell onthe stairs("onthe stairs"tellswhere he fell).
IdentifyingPrepositional Phrases.Underline the prepositional phrases.Circle the word

5. or wordsthat each phrase modifies.
Example:The girl inthe yellowdressismycousin.
1. BenjaminFranklinwasbornin1706.
2. My jacketisthe one withbrassbuttons.
3. Bill Cartertook five subjectsduringhissophomore year.
4. The oldman stoodpatientlyatthe door.
5. I stumbledoverTom'sfeet.
6. Behindthe counterstoodthe worriedclerk.
7. Miss Morgan isthe coach of our debate team.
8. Our team hasneverplayedagainstyours.
9. The tall man across the roomis tonight'sspeaker.
10. The ball was thrownoverthe roof.
11. Mrs. Garner pouredsome icedteaintomy glass.
12. Dan drove slowlypastthe corner.
13. The name of the bookis Alone.
14. Our house islocatedbeyondthe citylimits.
15. Throughoutthe night the doctor stayednearby.
16. Miss Mason fell off the ladderandsprainedherankle.
17. Underthe table the dogwaited.
18. We are proud because we stayedwithinourbudget.
19. I'll tell youa storyabout pioneerdays.
20. We visitedthe parkbetweenrainshowers.
1. BenjaminFranklinwasbornin1706.
2. My jacketisthe one withbrassbuttons.
3. Bill Cartertook five subjectsduringhissophomore year.
4. The oldman stoodpatientlyatthe door.
5. I stumbledoverTom'sfeet.
6. Behindthe counterstoodthe worriedclerk.
7. Miss Morgan isthe coach of our debate team
M:9-TLCTLC Web DesignHandouts
WorksheetsGrammar.Punctuation.WritingPhrasePrepositional.doc

6. .
8. Our team hasneverplayedagainstyours.
9. The tall man across the roomis tonight'sspeaker.
10. The ball was thrownoverthe roof.
11. Mrs. Garner pouredsome icedteaintomy glass.
12. Dan drove slowlypastthe corner.
13. The name of the bookis Alone.
14. Our house islocatedbeyondthe citylimits.
15. Throughoutthe nightthe doctor stayednearby.
16. Miss Mason fell off the ladderandsprainedherankle.
17. Underthe table the dogwaited.
18. We are proud because we stayedwithinourbudget.
19. I'll tell youa storyabout pioneerdays.
20. We visitedthe parkbetweenrainshowers.
https://www.sinclair.edu/centers/tlc/pub/handouts_worksheets/grammar_punctuation_writi
ng/phrase_prepositional.pdf